Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 57.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,535 shares during the quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,240,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $515,546,000 after acquiring an additional 972,157 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth $53,429,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the first quarter worth $51,618,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,733,000 after buying an additional 642,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 20.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,474,000 after buying an additional 467,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total transaction of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SON. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

SON traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.79. 414,939 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 434,542. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.80. The company has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 2.15 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. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $49.98 and a 52-week high of $63.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 22.42%. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 42.50%.

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.