Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Insider Ernest Haynes III Sells 1,581 Shares

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

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.48. 798,563 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,084,858. The company has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.54. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $48.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.12. Sonoco Products Company has a 52-week low of $38.65 and a 52-week high of $58.44.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 477.8% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,901,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $257,561,000 after acquiring an additional 4,880,438 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 357.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $90,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,576 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $54,611,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2,813.2% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 876,895 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,268,000 after buying an additional 846,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,563,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,226,000 after buying an additional 764,590 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $47.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.