Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $45.63, but opened at $47.00. Sonoco Products shares last traded at $46.51, with a volume of 55,888 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $47.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.55.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 37,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 106.5% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 186,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,111,000 after buying an additional 96,190 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 3,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

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.