Raymond James & Associates Sells 25,404 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Raymond James & Associates cut its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,404 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FLO. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 28.1% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 12,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the first quarter worth about $539,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 60.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 12,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 4,865 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 27,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 33.2% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 128,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 31,988 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on FLO shares. StockNews.com raised Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson started coverage on Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $24.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.32. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.64 and a fifty-two week high of $29.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.