Meritage Portfolio Management Grows Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 45.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 17,913 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned 0.06% of Sonoco Products worth $3,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,733,000 after buying an additional 642,109 shares during the period. 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. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 436.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 283,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,425,000 after acquiring an additional 230,862 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake 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 valued at $52,982,000 after acquiring an additional 142,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 94.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 290,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,797,000 after purchasing an additional 140,934 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet cut Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON stock traded down $0.43 on Thursday, hitting $56.18. The company had a trading volume of 263,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,241. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $63.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.90.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 7.00%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

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.