Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,398 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $543,638,000 after acquiring an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,345,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $65,706,000 after purchasing an additional 43,238 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,984,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,108,000 after buying an additional 9,899 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $43.85 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.83. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on 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 dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.