Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 21,177 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,847 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,177 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $3,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SON. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 39,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 170,365 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,322,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 17,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 193,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,443,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SON. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reduced 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. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.7 %

SON opened at $46.40 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.36 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.14.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its 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). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.06%.

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.