CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 5,572 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,572 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.09% of Sonoco Products worth $4,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,547,000 after acquiring an additional 126,867 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,615,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,505 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,817,000 after acquiring an additional 20,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON traded down $5.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,355,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,222. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $39.46 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.56 and a 200-day moving average of $48.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The business's revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 128.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products 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.