Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 47,914 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Flowers Foods by 37.8%, now owning 78,877 shares worth approximately $1.5 million.
• Flowers Foods recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 per share, representing a yield of 6.3% and an increase from the previous dividend.
• The company's earnings report revealed a loss of $0.03 per share compared to expectations, with quarterly revenue down 1.4% year-over-year.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 37.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,877 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,914 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 801,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,556,000 after purchasing an additional 118,583 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,591,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 29,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,066,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,033,000 after purchasing an additional 67,750 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.88 per share, for a total transaction of $50,640.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,861 shares in the company, valued at $774,133.68. This represents a 7.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George E. Deese acquired 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.84 per share, with a total value of $101,040.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,004,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,764,031.60. This trade represents a 0.30% 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 quarter. 11.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,903,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 0.32. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.27 and a twelve month high of $23.87. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.67.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.67%.

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.