Insider Selling: Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Insider Sells 1,581 Shares of 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 stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,769.03. This represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of SON traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.48. The company had a trading volume of 798,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,084,858. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.12. Sonoco Products Company has a 52-week low of $38.65 and a 52-week high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 18.52%. Sonoco Products’s revenue was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 13.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 34,582 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $922,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.