Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 460 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.7 %

SON opened at $46.57 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $44.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.84 and its 200 day moving average is $50.95.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) 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). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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.