Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 3,147 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 60,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,147 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $3,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SON. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,240,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $515,546,000 after acquiring an additional 972,157 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $53,429,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter worth $51,618,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,733,000 after acquiring an additional 642,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 467,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON stock opened at $55.79 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.80. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $49.98 and a 52 week high of $63.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.02). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 42.50%.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.