Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) CEO Purchases $922,000.00 in Stock

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

Sonoco Products Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of SON stock opened at $47.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $44.36 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SON. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial dropped 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 note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.