Gabelli Funds LLC Lowers Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 11th, 2023

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.06% of Sonoco Products worth $3,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SON. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,240,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $515,546,000 after purchasing an additional 972,157 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the first quarter worth about $51,618,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.4% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,991,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $687,633,000 after buying an additional 362,516 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,533,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,081,000 after buying an additional 361,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth about $18,086,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.00 per share, for a total transaction of $560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,640. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.00 per share, for a total transaction of $560,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,640. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.36, for a total transaction of $30,458.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,717.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $61.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.17.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON stock opened at $62.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.49 and a 200-day moving average of $59.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $51.52 and a 12 month high of $65.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.71.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 29.17%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th were given a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.40%.

Sonoco Products Profile

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Sonoco Products Co engages in the manufacture of industrial and consumer packaging products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Packaging, Paper and Industrial Converted Products, Protective Solutions, and Display and Packaging. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid containers, fiber and plastic caulk and adhesive tubes, and aluminum, steel, and peelable membrane easy-open closures for paper and metal cans.