Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.52 Million Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,269 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Sonoco Products worth $2,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SON. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,994,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,223,000 after buying an additional 344,658 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth $11,672,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,571,000 after buying an additional 230,709 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SON shares. StockNews.com cut Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on 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 dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON stock opened at $46.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $44.35 and a one year high of $61.73. 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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 4.47%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 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.