Blueshift Asset Management LLC Takes $287,000 Position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC has acquired 2,124 shares of Ingredion Incorporated, valued at approximately $287,000, as part of its new position in the company in the 1st quarter.
• Several hedge funds have also modified their holdings in Ingredion, with institutional investors now owning over 85% of the stock.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their ratings on Ingredion, resulting in an average price target of $151.40 and a current average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INGR. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 43,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,026,000 after purchasing an additional 21,231 shares during the last quarter. 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 337,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,398,000 after purchasing an additional 31,465 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Ingredion by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 115,122 shares of the company's stock worth $15,836,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ingredion

In other Ingredion news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 850 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total value of $109,131.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,002,044.69. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INGR has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ingredion from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.40.

Ingredion Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of INGR traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $124.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 533,223. The company's 50 day moving average is $135.39 and its 200 day moving average is $133.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.81. Ingredion Incorporated has a 12-month low of $120.51 and a 12-month high of $155.44.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.87 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.22%.

About Ingredion

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.