5 Safe Dividend Stocks to Buy Today

In this article, we discuss 5 safe dividend stocks to buy today. If you want our detailed analysis of the important role dividend stocks play in any portfolio, in addition to our first five safe dividend stock picks, don’t miss 10 Safe Dividend Stocks to Buy Today.

5. Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24

Dividend Yield as of March 4: 3.16%

Number of Years of Dividend Increases: 38

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) manufactures and sells industrial and consumer packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina. 

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) has a rich history of increasing dividends, which currently stretches to 38 consecutive years. Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) on February 9 declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, in line with previous. The dividend will be paid on March 10, to shareholders of record on February 23. 

On February 10, in its Q4 earnings report, Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) posted EPS of $0.90, beating estimates by $0.01. The $1.44 billion revenue also surpassed estimates by $38.86 million.

Seaport Global analyst Salvator Tiano upgraded Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) on December 21 to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ with a $66 price target after the company announced the acquisition of Ball MetalPack, a leading supplier of sustainable metal packaging, for $1.35 billion and the market reacted “very negatively” by sending the shares down over 6%. Though still somewhat concerned about fit, he likes the EPS and free cash flow accretion opportunity and his view of the acquisition has shifted to positive, the analyst told investors.

A total of 24 hedge funds were bullish on Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) in Q4 2021, up from 16 funds in the earlier quarter. Impax Asset Management held the leading stake in the company among the funds in our database, with 1.26 million shares worth $73.2 million.