Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Reduces Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lowered its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,683 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $543,638,000 after buying an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,842,000 after acquiring an additional 42,701 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,345,054 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,706,000 after acquiring an additional 43,238 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,108,000 after acquiring an additional 9,899 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON opened at $46.89 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.36 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.34 and a 200 day moving average of $50.10. 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) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SON shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.