Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,269 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $2,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,547,000 after buying an additional 126,867 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,505 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 579.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,073,000 after acquiring an additional 123,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 140,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SON shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON stock opened at $46.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $44.35 and a one year high of $61.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.84 and its 200 day moving average is $50.95.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

About Sonoco Products

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.