Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Reduces Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. decreased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,683 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.'s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,223,000 after buying an additional 344,658 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,042 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 3,547 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth about $365,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,571,000 after purchasing an additional 230,709 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SON. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.50.

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Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON traded up $0.73 on Tuesday, hitting $47.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 753,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 720,770. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.28 and a 200-day moving average of $49.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $44.36 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.