27,941 Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Bought by Cary Street Partners Financial LLC

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC has acquired 27,941 shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO), valued at approximately $531,000, during the first quarter.
• Insider purchases totaled 12,000 shares worth $202,440 over the last quarter, indicating confidence from company executives amidst a market price target reduction by analysts.
• Flowers Foods declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 per share, increasing from the previous dividend of $0.24, with an annual yield of 6.1%.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FLO. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 904.8% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 2,253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on 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 cut Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Flowers Foods Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE FLO traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.47. 3,018,698 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,419,485. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $16.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.51. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.27 and a 52 week high of $23.87.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The firm's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction of $50,640.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $774,133.68. This trade represents a 7.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director George E. Deese bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. Insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

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.