Marshall Wace LLP Sells 30,457 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 30,457 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.13% of Sonoco Products worth $6,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock traded up $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $46.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 168,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 748,641. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $45.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.42. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 128.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SON. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Raymond James lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.43.

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.