Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Bought by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 60,406 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $10,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 4.8 %

Sonoco Products stock opened at $43.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $43.40 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging segments. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid paper, steel, and plastic containers; metal and peelable membrane ends, closures, and components; thermoformed plastic trays and enclosures; and high-barrier flexible packaging products.