Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,733,000 after purchasing an additional 13,161 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 70.1% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,827,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,914,000 after buying an additional 1,164,849 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Sonoco Products by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,804,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,169,000 after buying an additional 162,262 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,398,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,935,000 after buying an additional 18,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $53,618,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.7%

Sonoco Products stock opened at $44.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.81. Sonoco Products Company has a 52 week low of $38.65 and a 52 week high of $50.09. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 7.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, June 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 20.49%. Sonoco Products has set its Q2 2022 guidance at $1.60-$1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 33.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SON shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 2,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $39.87 per share, with a total value of $99,914.22. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,369.70. This represents a 12.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Paul Joachimczyk acquired 20,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $39.50 per share, with a total value of $809,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 20,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.