ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 1,752,751 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,543,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,752,751 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $27,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,623.7% in the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 225.6% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 64.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 262.9% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Flowers Foods by 151.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $7.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.46. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.89 and a 52 week high of $17.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.94.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is 247.50%.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FLO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research lowered Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.60.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.