John R. Haley Acquires 3,000 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) 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, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $47.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $44.35 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial lowered 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. 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, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SON. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,203,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,984,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 368.6% during the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 666,430 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,555,000 after buying an additional 524,198 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,994,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,143,000 after buying an additional 442,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

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.