Natixis Advisors L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 18,818 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned 0.10% of Sonoco Products worth $5,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,969,740 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $596,205,000 after purchasing an additional 64,047 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $151,474,000 after acquiring an additional 467,431 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.8% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,181,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $118,573,000 after acquiring an additional 138,181 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,279,667 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,550,000 after acquiring an additional 46,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.1% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 974,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $52,982,000 after purchasing an additional 142,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $58.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 413,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,883. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $63.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $57.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.28.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 52.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of several analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded Sonoco Products from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total transaction of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.