Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,098 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,695 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the first quarter worth about $58,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $57.64 on Thursday. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $49.98 and a one year high of $63.74. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.69. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.52.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Sonoco Products news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SON. TheStreet lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 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.