Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,241 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FLO. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Flowers Foods by 206.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,286,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,823,000 after buying an additional 11,637,370 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $38,880,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,583,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,749 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 73.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,383,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in Flowers Foods by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,165,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,235,000 after purchasing an additional 988,809 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $24.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.38, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year high of $29.10. 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 $22.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.30.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

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.