M&T Bank Corp Reduces Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on FLO. Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at $33,764,031.60. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III acquired 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,133.68. The trade was a 7.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of FLO stock opened at $15.42 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.95. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.31 and a twelve month high of $23.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Flowers Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.42%. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 91.67%.

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.