Amalgamated Bank Has $3.48 Million Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,107 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank owned about 0.06% of Sonoco Products worth $3,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $58.84 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.18. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $49.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 over the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

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.