Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO Shares Bought by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. by 899.6% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 116,061, valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• Flowers Foods announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 per share, translating to an annual yield of 6.7%, with a payout ratio of 95.19%.
• Analysts have given Flowers Foods a consensus rating of "Hold," with several brokerage firms adjusting their target prices, the latest being $15.00 from Truist Financial.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 899.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,061 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 104,450 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Flowers Foods worth $2,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Flowers Foods by 270.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,449,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,437,735 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Flowers Foods by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,392,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,011,428 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 8,028.8% during the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 489,272 shares of the company's stock worth $9,301,000 after acquiring an additional 483,253 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 136.4% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 813,886 shares of the company's stock worth $16,815,000 after acquiring an additional 469,652 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 3,837.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 342,067 shares of the company's stock worth $6,503,000 after buying an additional 333,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FLO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.33.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 3.3%

FLO stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.31. 3,525,204 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,559,309. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.26 and a 1 year high of $23.87.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 15th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.30% and a return on equity of 17.85%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is 95.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, insider Cindy Cox sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total value of $54,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,910. This represents a 17.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.