Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,253 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $6,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $543,638,000 after purchasing an additional 120,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,842,000 after acquiring an additional 42,701 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,345,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,706,000 after acquiring an additional 43,238 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $46.84 on Tuesday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.36 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.37 and its 200 day moving average is $50.20.

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

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products 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.