Sonoco (SON) Position Reduced by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Sonoco (NYSE:SON) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,994 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,634 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Sonoco worth $9,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services raised its holdings in Sonoco by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 2,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares in the last quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Sonoco by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Sonoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $176,000. Howland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Dividend Assets Capital LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. 72.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Get Sonoco alerts:

In other Sonoco news, SVP Rodger D. Fuller sold 13,974 shares of Sonoco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total transaction of $713,372.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 72,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,684,482.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Marcy J. Thompson sold 1,101 shares of Sonoco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $58,353.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,510 shares in the company, valued at $822,030. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,632 shares of company stock worth $1,219,525. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

NYSE SON opened at $51.82 on Monday. Sonoco has a twelve month low of $46.55 and a twelve month high of $55.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.61. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.12.

Sonoco (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.01). Sonoco had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 3.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts expect that Sonoco will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from Sonoco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 10th. Sonoco’s payout ratio is presently 58.78%.

Several research firms have issued reports on SON. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Sonoco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonoco from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 19th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Sonoco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 20th. KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating on shares of Sonoco in a research report on Thursday, April 19th. Finally, UBS began coverage on shares of Sonoco in a research report on Friday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.29.

About Sonoco

Sonoco Products Company manufactures and sells industrial and consumer packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Packaging, Display and Packaging, Paper and Industrial Converted Products, and Protective Solutions. The Consumer Packaging segment offers composite and thermoformed plastic round and shaped rigid containers and trays; extruded and injection-molded plastic products; printed flexible packaging products; brand artwork management; and metal and peelable membrane ends and closures.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sonoco (NYSE:SON).