Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $45.63, but opened at $47.00. Sonoco Products shares last traded at $46.51, with a volume of 55,888 shares.

Specifically, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted 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. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.50.

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Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.4 %

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $47.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.46%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 111.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 90.6% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 650.7% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.