Huntington National Bank Acquires 426 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SON. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,984,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,533,000. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,672,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,571,000 after purchasing an additional 230,709 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 4.8 %

NYSE SON opened at $43.77 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $43.40 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released 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). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. Equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

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.