Arizona State Retirement System Has $1.09 Million Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In related news, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,004,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on FLO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $15.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.31 and a 52-week 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 fifty day moving average price of $16.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.91.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 6.42%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.