New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 33,882 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 35.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,882 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $3,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 7.7% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth approximately $353,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of SON opened at $46.88 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.12 and its 200 day moving average is $51.02. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $44.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share 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 given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SON. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.83.

Sonoco Products 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.