Signaturefd LLC Grows Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,325 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,749 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,815,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,259,000 after purchasing an additional 64,119 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,232,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,207 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,173,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after purchasing an additional 32,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,082,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,361,000 after purchasing an additional 425,988 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FLO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE FLO opened at $24.89 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $29.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.16 and a 200-day moving average of $22.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Flowers Foods 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.