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

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,656 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 191,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,636,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 112,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FLO. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,133.68. The trade was a 7.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $202,440 over the last quarter. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of FLO opened at $15.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.31 and a 52 week high of $23.87.

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

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

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

Flowers Foods 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.