Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,262 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,933 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Sonoco Products worth $10,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,969,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $596,205,000 after acquiring an additional 64,047 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 36.6% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 72,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,928,000 after purchasing an additional 19,354 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth about $624,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 84.8% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 27,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after buying an additional 12,661 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after buying an additional 4,058 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.2 %

SON stock opened at $56.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.00. 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 twelve month low of $49.98 and a twelve month high of $63.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 22.42%. The company 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 earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors 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. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sonoco Products news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 over the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SON. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

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.