Farther Finance Advisors LLC Has $148,000 Stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 65.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $78,203,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,984,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 368.6% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 666,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,555,000 after acquiring an additional 524,198 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,143,000 after acquiring an additional 442,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,533,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON opened at $43.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.70. Sonoco Products Company has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $56.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.40%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.92%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SON shares. UBS Group began coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sonoco Products from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.25.

Insider Activity

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 2,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $100,104.22. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,804 shares in the company, valued at $927,234.28. The trade was a 12.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.17 per share, for a total transaction of $823,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 502,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,682,367.05. This represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.