Axa S.A. Sells 10,853 Shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

Axa S.A. reduced its position in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,894 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,853 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Darling Ingredients were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 148.9% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,393,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,005,000 after acquiring an additional 2,627,785 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Darling Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth about $63,956,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Darling Ingredients by 203.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,844,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,985 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Darling Ingredients by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,453,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,425,000 after purchasing an additional 791,157 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Darling Ingredients by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 973,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,799,000 after buying an additional 708,035 shares during the period. 94.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of Darling Ingredients stock opened at $34.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $47.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.20.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.36). Darling Ingredients had a net margin of 4.88% and a return on equity of 6.04%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on DAR shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Darling Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Darling Ingredients from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Darling Ingredients from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.33.

About Darling Ingredients

Darling Ingredients Inc develops, produces, and sells natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients in North America, Europe, China, South America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients, and Fuel Ingredients. It offers ingredients and customized specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries.