Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Sells 523,044 Shares of Sonoco Products Company $SON

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. cut its stake in Sonoco Products (SON) by 44.4%, selling 523,044 shares in Q4 and now holds 655,339 shares (~0.66% of the company) valued at about $28.6 million.
• Sonoco beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $1.05 (vs. $1.01) and revenue of $1.77B (up 29.7% YoY); the company pays a $0.53 quarterly dividend (3.8% yield) and trades at a P/E of 5.61 with a market cap around $5.58B.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. cut its stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 44.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 655,339 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 523,044 shares during the quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Sonoco Products worth $28,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $292,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 8,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $125,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares during the period. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 7,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total transaction of $89,152.59. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $528,769.03. This trade represents a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.98% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $56.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.50. Sonoco Products Company has a 52-week low of $38.65 and a 52-week high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business's fifty day moving average is $53.67 and its 200-day moving average is $46.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SON shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.89.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company NYSE: SON is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.

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