Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.52 Per Share

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.52 per share by the industrial products company on Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51.

Sonoco Products has increased its dividend by an average of 5.5% annually over the last three years.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.87. The company had a trading volume of 241,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $56.95 and a 200 day moving average of $55.80. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $49.98 and a 52-week high of $63.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.02). The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, 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 transaction of $604,065.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $604,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sonoco Products

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 12.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 65,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,088,000 after acquiring an additional 7,130 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 8.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 22.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 23,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 4,281 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 164.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 43,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 27,157 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.5% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 274,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $17,145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet downgraded Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.