Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Holdings in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 14.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,928 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,295 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Ingredion were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Ingredion during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 653.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 226 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of Ingredion stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $136.90. 408,479 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 475,308. Ingredion Incorporated has a 1 year low of $111.54 and a 1 year high of $155.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. UBS Group set a $155.00 price target on shares of Ingredion in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ingredion currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.20.

Insider Transactions at Ingredion

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 transaction of $325,968.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Ingredion 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.