Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 80.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,179,000 after purchasing an additional 248,236 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at $2,419,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position 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 valued at $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at $970,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.17.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value 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 represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $48.61 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $45.93 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.63 and a 200-day moving average of $51.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.