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

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,285 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Flowers Foods worth $2,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 46.4% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 1,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on FLO. StockNews.com upgraded Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson began coverage on Flowers Foods in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey purchased 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:FLO opened at $24.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.64 and a 12-month high of $29.10.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.62%.

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.