Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 15,252 Shares of Ennis, Inc. (NYSE:EBF)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Ennis, Inc. (NYSE:EBF - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,656 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,252 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Ennis worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Ennis by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 617,207 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,017,000 after purchasing an additional 133,036 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ennis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ennis by 8,888.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ennis by 143.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,615 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 13,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ennis by 225.1% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 28,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 19,812 shares in the last quarter. 74.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ennis news, Director Michael J. Schaefer sold 5,253 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.09, for a total transaction of $95,026.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,734 shares in the company, valued at $809,238.06. This trade represents a 10.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,873 shares of company stock worth $357,330. Insiders own 3.50% of the company's stock.

Ennis Price Performance

Shares of Ennis stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.67. 136,620 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 155,599. Ennis, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.15 and a 52-week high of $25.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.27. The company has a market capitalization of $486.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.46.

Ennis (NYSE:EBF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). Ennis had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The firm had revenue of $92.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.60 million.

Ennis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. Ennis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ennis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd.

About Ennis

Ennis, Inc manufactures and sells business forms and other business products in the United States. The company offers snap sets, continuous forms, laser cut sheets, tags, labels, envelopes, integrated products, jumbo rolls, and pressure sensitive products under the Ennis, Royal Business Forms, Block Graphics, 360º Custom Labels, ColorWorx, Enfusion, Uncompromised Check Solutions, VersaSeal, Ad Concepts, FormSource Limited, Star Award Ribbon Company, Witt Printing, B&D Litho, Genforms, PrintGraphics, Calibrated Forms, PrintXcel, Printegra, Forms Manufacturers, Mutual Graphics, TRI-C Business Forms, Major Business Systems, Independent Printing, Hoosier Data Forms, Hayes Graphics, Wright Business Graphics, Wright 360, Integrated Print & Graphics, the Flesh Company, Impressions Direct, and AmeriPrint brands.