Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,010 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Sonoco Products worth $5,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,547,000 after acquiring an additional 126,867 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,505 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 579.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,073,000 after purchasing an additional 123,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 312.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SON. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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 reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $46.70 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $44.36 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 126.06%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.