Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 118,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,285 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 64.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,082,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,361,000 after purchasing an additional 425,988 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,518,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 37.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 168,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE FLO opened at $24.05 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.28.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FLO. DA Davidson began coverage on Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In related news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $987,721.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

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.