Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Takes Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 31,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,184,000 after acquiring an additional 21,799 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth $71,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 36.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 110.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after purchasing an additional 38,564 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $41.17 per share, with a total value of $823,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,682,367.05. This trade represents a 4.15 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 50,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,206,646. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON opened at $44.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.05. 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 has a 12-month low of $39.46 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SON. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.43.

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.