EP Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,609 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Sonoco Products by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Sonoco Products by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,643.60. This trade represents a 22.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.17 per share, with a total value of $823,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 502,365 shares in the company, valued at $20,682,367.05. This trade represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SON. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.4%

SON stock opened at $45.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.11 and a 200-day moving average of $47.77.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

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.