Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 4,690 Shares of Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG – Get Rating) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,690 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Bunge were worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BG. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in Bunge during the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Exos TFP Holdings LLC bought a new position in Bunge during the 3rd quarter worth about $184,000. Credit Suisse AG grew its holdings in Bunge by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 320,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,442,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Bunge by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 109,933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Bunge by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Bunge Price Performance

Bunge stock opened at $89.11 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.85. Bunge Limited has a 1 year low of $80.41 and a 1 year high of $118.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Bunge (NYSE:BG – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The basic materials company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.13). Bunge had a return on equity of 20.13% and a net margin of 2.33%. The business had revenue of $15.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bunge Limited will post 11.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bunge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.6625 per share. This represents a $2.65 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This is a boost from Bunge’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Bunge’s payout ratio is 24.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Bunge from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Bunge in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Bunge from $120.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Bunge from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.22.

About Bunge

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Bunge Ltd. operates as a holding company. engages in the supply and transportation of agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Agribusiness, Refined and Specialty Oils, Milling, and Sugar and Bioenergy. The Agribusiness segment is involved in the purchase, storage, transportation, processing, and sale of agricultural commodities and commodity products.