New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 33,882 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 35.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,882 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Sonoco Products worth $3,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.83.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $46.88 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $48.12 and a 200 day moving average of $51.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $44.35 and a 1 year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

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.