R. Howard Coker Acquires 20,000 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:SON opened at $48.45 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $44.36 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SON. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 64,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,145,000 after acquiring an additional 8,432 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 37,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 106.5% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 186,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,111,000 after purchasing an additional 96,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 3,402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

About Sonoco Products

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.