Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 24.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,146 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 152.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 90.6% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 111.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 650.7% in the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 474.8% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. purchased 5,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.34 per share, with a total value of $220,861.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,643.60. This represents a 22.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.17 per share, with a total value of $823,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 acquired 27,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,144,366 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sonoco Products from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.13.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $46.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sonoco Products Company has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $56.77.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

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.