Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 9,939 Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 26.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,939 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SON. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $543,638,000 after acquiring an additional 120,843 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Sonoco Products by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,411,000 after acquiring an additional 136,965 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,661 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,203,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,338,000 after acquiring an additional 155,893 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.17 per share, for a total transaction of $823,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 502,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,682,367.05. This represents a 4.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 2,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.57 per share, for a total transaction of $100,104.22. Following the acquisition, the director owned 20,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,234.28. This represents a 12.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE:SON traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.25. The company had a trading volume of 799,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,705. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.07. Sonoco Products Company has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $56.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business's revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 137.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.13.

Sonoco Products Company 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.