Legal & General Group Plc Sells 7,260 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,260 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $8,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SON shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research note 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON stock opened at $43.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day moving average of $48.90. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $39.46 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

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.