Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,449,876 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,378 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.48% of Sonoco Products worth $70,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 9.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $25,817,000 after acquiring an additional 20,075 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of SON stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.23. 412,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 752,082. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $45.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.48. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $39.46 and a 52-week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 128.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.