Equity Investment Corp Has $108.63 Million Stock Holdings in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Equity Investment Corp lowered its holdings in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 16.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 789,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 154,434 shares during the period. Ingredion accounts for 2.5% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Ingredion were worth $108,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ingredion in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 431.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ingredion during the third quarter worth about $86,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ingredion Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE INGR opened at $130.59 on Thursday. Ingredion Incorporated has a 52-week low of $109.51 and a 52-week high of $155.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.74.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 18.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio is 32.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on INGR shares. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ingredion

In other news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $1,361,392.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,906.76. This trade represents a 24.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James D. Gray sold 54,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.76, for a total transaction of $8,052,574.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,877,794.20. This trade represents a 81.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,685 shares of company stock worth $9,414,112. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.