Ernest Haynes III Sells 1,581 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) insider Ernest Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON opened at $56.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.20. Sonoco Products Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.65 and a fifty-two week high of $58.44. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 172.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.63.

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.