Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. Sells 4,000 Shares

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of SON traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 686,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 800,717. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.25 and its 200-day moving average is $51.76. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $45.93 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.52%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.48%.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SON. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after buying an additional 437,128 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 16,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 110.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after purchasing an additional 38,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.17.

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.