Martin & Co. Inc. TN Has $4.11 Million Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Martin & Co. Inc. TN reduced its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 9,279 shares during the period. Martin & Co. Inc. TN owned 0.11% of Hawkins worth $4,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HWKN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hawkins by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,504,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $274,963,000 after purchasing an additional 41,652 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hawkins by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,981,000 after buying an additional 5,110 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Hawkins by 50.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,122,000 after buying an additional 94,503 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Hawkins by 130.7% during the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 149,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,229,000 after acquiring an additional 84,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hawkins by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 148,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,055,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BWS Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James A. Faulconbridge bought 1,500 shares of Hawkins stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $129.29 per share, with a total value of $193,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,907 shares in the company, valued at $6,581,766.03. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hawkins Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWKN opened at $144.96 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.40. Hawkins, Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.30 and a 52-week high of $186.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). Hawkins had a net margin of 7.75% and a return on equity of 16.85%. The company had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $252.51 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.24%.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc (NASDAQ: HWKN) is a specialty chemical company that produces and distributes water-treatment and industrial chemicals across North America. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, the company has built a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that serve municipal, industrial and commercial customers. As a publicly traded entity, Hawkins leverages its long-standing presence in the chemical distribution industry to provide tailored solutions for complex water-treatment challenges and specialty chemical needs.

Hawkins’ product portfolio encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, acids and specialty blends.