Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 1,240 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 27,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 18,688 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 14,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SON. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet cut Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE SON opened at $55.58 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $49.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total transaction of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.