17,171 Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Acquired by AE Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC has acquired a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. with 17,171 shares valued at approximately $326,000, marking a significant investment in the company.
• Insider transactions indicate positive sentiment, as directors of Flowers Foods purchased a total of 6,000 shares recently, indicating confidence in the company's prospects.
• Flowers Foods has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.2475 per share, reflecting a strong dividend yield of 6.21% despite a slight dip in revenue year-over-year.

AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 0.3% in the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 191,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,636,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 112,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,133 shares of the company's stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Flowers Foods stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,903,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,425,108. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.27 and a 52-week high of $23.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.17 and a 200 day moving average of $17.70.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Flowers Foods news, Director George E. Deese bought 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,764,031.60. This trade represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III bought 3,000 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,133.68. This represents a 7.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440 over the last 90 days. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

About Flowers Foods

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.