Vontobel Holding Ltd. Takes $737,000 Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,018,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 184.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 184,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,085,000 after purchasing an additional 119,501 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al raised its position in Flowers Foods by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al now owns 472,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 228,063 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Flowers Foods by 113.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 343,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after purchasing an additional 182,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 10,660.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 272,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,037,000 after buying an additional 269,701 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. 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 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

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

Flowers Foods Trading Up 2.2 %

FLO opened at $24.58 on Monday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.64 and a 12 month high of $29.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 18.15%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. 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.