Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,452 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,969,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $596,205,000 after buying an additional 64,047 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $151,474,000 after buying an additional 467,431 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,181,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $118,573,000 after buying an additional 138,181 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.8% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,279,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,550,000 after buying an additional 46,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 974,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,982,000 after purchasing an additional 142,592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SON. Citigroup dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total transaction of $30,630.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. 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. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SON traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $56.46. 37,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 425,374. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $63.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $56.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 22.42%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

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.