Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Position in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 634.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,686 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.14% of Sonoco Products worth $7,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 477.8% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,901,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $257,561,000 after buying an additional 4,880,438 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Sonoco Products by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $194,733,000 after acquiring an additional 13,161 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,898,370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $170,126,000 after acquiring an additional 176,949 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,804,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,169,000 after acquiring an additional 162,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 357.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $56.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Sonoco Products Company has a 1-year low of $38.65 and a 1-year high of $58.44. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.42 and a 200-day moving average of $51.56.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.800-6.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products Company will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, CFO Paul Joachimczyk acquired 8,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.64 per share, for a total transaction of $399,999.12. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 28,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,417,619.12. This represents a 39.31% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James A. Harrell III acquired 6,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.37 per share, with a total value of $340,148.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,070 shares in the company, valued at $507,225.90. The trade was a 203.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SON. Wall Street Zen cut Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.33.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.