SageView Advisory Group LLC Grows Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $62,387,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,733,000 after acquiring an additional 642,109 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,474,000 after buying an additional 467,431 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,485,000 after buying an additional 371,096 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 436.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 283,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,425,000 after buying an additional 230,862 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SON shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.0 %

Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.61. The company had a trading volume of 473,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 562,735. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $63.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

About Sonoco Products

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.