R. Howard Coker Purchases 20,000 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.51. The stock had a trading volume of 65,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,811. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $44.35 and a 1-year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released 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). The business 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SON. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,411,000 after buying an additional 136,965 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,661 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,842,000 after acquiring an additional 42,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $78,203,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.