Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 163.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,153 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 165,085 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.13% of Flowers Foods worth $5,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FLO. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 0.3% during 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% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,837 shares of the company's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 112,027 shares of the company's stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake 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 worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,133 shares of the company's stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought 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 represents a 0.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Jameson Mcfadden acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.92 per share, with a total value of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at $9,009,493.92. This represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.64. 2,305,936 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,830,317. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.19. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.33. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.52 and a 12-month high of $23.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is currently 91.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FLO. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Flowers Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.25.

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.