Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Insider Sells $89,152.59 in Stock

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) insider Ernest Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:SON opened at $56.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.50. Sonoco Products Company has a 1-year low of $38.65 and a 1-year high of $58.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.19.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 42,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,498,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,403,000 after purchasing an additional 178,638 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $922,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SON. UBS Group increased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sonoco Products from $47.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.63.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.