M&T Bank Corp Increases Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $2,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 worth $54,108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,044,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,030,000 after purchasing an additional 15,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 126,867 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Sonoco Products 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON stock opened at $47.80 on Monday. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $44.35 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.