All investors love getting big returns from their portfolio, whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.While cash flow can come from bond interest or interest from other types of investments, income investors hone in on dividends. A dividend is that coveted distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders, and investors often view it by its dividend yield, a metric that measures the dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.Sonoco in FocusBased in Hartsville, Sonoco (SON) is in the Industrial Products sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 6.11%. The packaging maker is paying out a dividend of $0.45 per share at the moment, with a dividend yield of 2.86% compared to the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry's yield of 2.06% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.4%.Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $1.80 is up 4.7% from last year. In the past five-year period, Sonoco has increased its dividend 4 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 4.17%. Any future dividend growth will depend on both earnings growth and the company's payout ratio; a payout ratio is the proportion of a firm's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Right now, Sonoco's payout ratio is 53%, which means it paid out 53% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.Looking at this fiscal year, SON expects solid earnings growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is $3.56 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 4.40%.Bottom LineInvestors like dividends for a variety of different reasons, from tax advantages and decreasing overall portfolio risk to considerably improving stock investing profits. It's important to keep in mind that not all companies provide a quarterly payout.High-growth firms or tech start-ups, for example, rarely provide their shareholders a dividend, while larger, more established companies that have more secure profits are often seen as the best dividend options. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, SON is a compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it a strong dividend play, but the stock currently sits at a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). Tech IPOs With Massive Profit Potential: Last years top IPOs surged as much as 299% within the first two months. With record amounts of cash flooding into IPOs and a record-setting stock market, this year could be even more lucrative. See Zacks’ Hottest Tech IPOs Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sonoco Products Company (SON): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.