Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 4,635 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,635 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FLO. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,842 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 14,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 84,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $737,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related 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 acquired at an average price of $23.55 per share, for a total transaction of $117,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $24.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.56. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.64 and a 1-year high of $29.10. The firm has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.37.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FLO has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Flowers Foods in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

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.