Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 346.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,599 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,448 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ingredion were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INGR. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ingredion by 31.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 47,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,499,000 after buying an additional 11,432 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ingredion by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Ingredion by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ingredion by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC increased its position in Ingredion by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 33,994 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,676,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ingredion Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of INGR stock opened at $135.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.62. Ingredion Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $111.54 and a fifty-two week high of $155.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.53. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.76%.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.82, for a total value of $325,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,996 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,696.72. This trade represents a 6.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $1,361,392.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 34,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,906.76. This trade represents a 24.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,215 shares of company stock worth $1,687,360 in the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $155.00 price target on Ingredion in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.20.

Ingredion Profile

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.