Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,887 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of SON stock opened at $43.45 on Thursday. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.05 and its 200-day moving average is $48.97. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SON shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products 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.