AIA Group Ltd Invests $312,000 in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,576 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 42,717 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 21,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 27,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON opened at $57.11 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $49.98 and a 1-year high of $63.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SON. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Sonoco Products 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.