Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lessened its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.05% of Sonoco Products worth $2,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 86,558 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 21,993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Sonoco Products by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 99,930 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,431,000 after purchasing an additional 8,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 12.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 in the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON stock opened at $58.12 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $63.74. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.14.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.52%.

Sonoco Products Company 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.