Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 18,947 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 76.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,947 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $543,638,000 after purchasing an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,338,000 after buying an additional 155,893 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,345,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,706,000 after buying an additional 43,238 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,984,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased 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. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $43.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.76. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week 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.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 128.48%.

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.