First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,449,876 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,378 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.48% of Sonoco Products worth $70,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.23. 412,829 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,716. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $39.46 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $45.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SON. Citigroup cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.43.

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.