Vestcor Inc Reduces Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,799 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SON. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 193,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,447,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 154.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 182,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,619,000 after buying an additional 110,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 422.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 153,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,491,000 after acquiring an additional 123,983 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 3.4 %

Sonoco Products stock opened at $47.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.49. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.36 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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 decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.