Insider Buying: Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Director Acquires 3,000 Shares of Stock

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.8 %

SON stock opened at $47.82 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.35 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.81 and its 200-day moving average is $50.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.06%.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SON. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 4.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Sonoco Products by 18.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,642,000 after buying an additional 18,648 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 5,363.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 13,032 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 3.6% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,948 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Sonoco Products by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 11,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SON shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com lowered Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.