Dean Investment Associates LLC Sells 7,315 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lowered its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,315 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $43.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced 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 net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Company 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.