ING Groep NV Buys 123,500 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 579.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,500 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.15% of Sonoco Products worth $7,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $1,933,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 6,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON stock opened at $46.88 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $44.35 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.12 and a 200 day moving average of $51.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

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

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 126.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.83.

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.