SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Holdings in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 74.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,389 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 84,032 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $543,638,000 after purchasing an additional 120,843 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,411,000 after purchasing an additional 136,965 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,661 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,203,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,338,000 after purchasing an additional 155,893 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.25.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.45. The company had a trading volume of 574,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,682. Sonoco Products Company has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $57.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 137.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John R. Haley purchased 2,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $100,104.22. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,234.28. This trade represents a 12.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. purchased 5,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $40.34 per share, with a total value of $220,861.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,643.60. The trade was a 22.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 27,721 shares of company stock valued at $1,144,366 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

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.