Alps Advisors Inc. Buys 4,789 Shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,700 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.16% of Ingredion worth $14,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of INGR. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Ingredion by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 583,081 shares of the company's stock worth $80,209,000 after buying an additional 10,703 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 606.2% in the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 38,023 shares of the company's stock worth $5,230,000 after acquiring an additional 32,639 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion in the 1st quarter valued at about $646,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 156.7% in the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 6,768 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ingredion by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 652,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,790,000 after purchasing an additional 314,912 shares in the last quarter. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.82, for a total value of $325,968.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,696.72. This represents a 6.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ingredion Stock Performance

INGR traded down $0.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.77. 386,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,617. Ingredion Incorporated has a one year low of $113.94 and a one year high of $155.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $137.51 and its 200 day moving average is $133.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.72.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.53. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ingredion from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.40.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.