Brandes Investment Partners LP Raises Stake in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 110.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 368,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193,682 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $16,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 202.0% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 31,053 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 20,771 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 46.2% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 81,728 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,522,000 after purchasing an additional 25,836 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth approximately $1,556,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 303,784 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 111,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 10,238.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 728,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,776,000 after purchasing an additional 721,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Sonoco Products to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Paul Joachimczyk purchased 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.64 per share, with a total value of $399,999.12. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,558 shares in the company, valued at $1,417,619.12. This trade represents a 39.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James A. Harrell III purchased 6,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $50.37 per share, for a total transaction of $340,148.61. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 10,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $507,225.90. This trade represents a 203.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON opened at $49.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.44. Sonoco Products Company has a 1 year low of $38.65 and a 1 year high of $58.44.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.