Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 621 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 12,183.3% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 88.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON opened at $50.31 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.72. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

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.