Versor Investments LP Sells 4,851 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Versor Investments LP lowered its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,851 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 51,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 9,269 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 271.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 14,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 10,710 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,108,000 after acquiring an additional 9,899 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 187,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 2.8 %

SON opened at $47.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.94.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.52 dividend. 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 126.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% 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.