Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 94,179 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Sonoco Products worth $7,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial lowered 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE SON traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.57. 1,104,379 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,148. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $40.17 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $46.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 126.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

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.