New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 277,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,235 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.28% of Sonoco Products worth $15,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 130,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,292,000 after purchasing an additional 29,543 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 751.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $626,000. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sonoco Products news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 in the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $57.26 on Tuesday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $49.98 and a twelve month high of $63.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.98.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

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.