Please replace the release with the following corrected version due to a revision.
The corrected release reads:
Sonoco Board Increases Common Stock Dividend
Dividend Raised for the 32nd Consecutive Year
HARTSVILLE, S.C., April 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Sonoco (NYSE:SON) today declared a $.32 per share quarterly common stock dividend, an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $.31 per share. The dividend will be paid on June 10, 2014, to shareholders of record as of May 16, 2014.
According to Jack Sanders, president and chief executive officer, this is the 32nd consecutive year that Sonoco has raised common stock dividends and 356th consecutive quarter, dating back to 1925, that the Company has paid dividends to shareholders. If annualized, Sonoco's new dividend is projected to increase from $1.24 to $1.28 per share, an increase of 3.2 percent.
Sonoco projected annualized dividend of $1.28 per share provides a yield of approximately 3.0 percent, based on the Company's closing stock price of $41.65 as of April 15, 2014. Sonoco's dividend yield is one of the highest payouts provided by any U.S. packaging company and is about 50 percent higher than the yield of the S&P 500.
About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $4.9 billion, the Company has more than 19,900 employees working in 335 operations in 33 countries, serving many of the world's best known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2013/2014 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.