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

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

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $47.42 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.36 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.31 and its 200 day moving average is $50.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after buying an additional 5,505 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 579.8% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,073,000 after buying an additional 123,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after buying an additional 140,370 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 several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.