Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Ingredion Incorporated by 33.3%, selling 3,199 shares, leaving it with a total of 6,400 shares valued at $865,000.
• Ingredion announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, which equates to an annualized yield of 2.5% based on a dividend payout ratio of 31.22%.
• The company's stock opened at $126.19 and has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, with analysts predicting its earnings per share will reach 11.14 for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,199 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ingredion were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INGR. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Ingredion by 327.2% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 531,413 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,101,000 after buying an additional 407,027 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,204,347 shares of the company's stock worth $162,840,000 after purchasing an additional 361,584 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 536.6% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 361,153 shares of the company's stock worth $49,680,000 after purchasing an additional 304,421 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth $31,752,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 11,870.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 163,875 shares of the company's stock worth $221,580,000 after purchasing an additional 162,506 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Ingredion stock traded up $1.07 on Thursday, reaching $126.25. 316,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 517,580. Ingredion Incorporated has a 1-year low of $120.51 and a 1-year high of $155.44. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $135.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.35.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 850 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total transaction of $109,131.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on INGR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ingredion from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.