Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,190 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ingredion were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at $1,553,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Ingredion by 92.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after buying an additional 4,251 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at $1,986,000. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP grew its position in Ingredion by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP now owns 35,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,810,000 after buying an additional 4,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ingredion in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.08, for a total value of $272,624.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,333,407.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.08, for a total value of $272,624.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,333,407.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 54,581 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.24, for a total transaction of $6,399,076.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,635,601.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 58,921 shares of company stock valued at $6,903,045. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ingredion Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:INGR opened at $115.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Ingredion Incorporated has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $118.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.80.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 7.88%. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Ingredion’s payout ratio is 32.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Ingredion from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $122.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ingredion in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Ingredion from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ingredion from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.67.

About Ingredion

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.