Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $1.83 Million Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,388 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,322 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,223,000 after buying an additional 344,658 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 17.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $365,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,571,000 after buying an additional 230,709 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $46.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.36 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.10.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SON has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

About Sonoco Products

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.