Strs Ohio Acquires Shares of 54,425 Sonoco Products Company $SON

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 54,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,371,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.06% of Sonoco Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 508.1% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 152.0% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 56.5% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:SON opened at $39.87 on Tuesday. Sonoco Products Company has a one year low of $38.65 and a one year high of $52.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.33, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter. The business 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 33.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 2,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $39.87 per share, with a total value of $99,914.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $929,369.70. This represents a 12.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul Joachimczyk bought 20,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.50 per share, with a total value of $809,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.43.

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.