Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 1,248,401 Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,248,401 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $60,984,000. Norges Bank owned 1.27% of Sonoco Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SON shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON traded down $1.23 on Tuesday, hitting $40.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,104,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,148. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.43. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $40.17 and a 1 year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.