Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 4,442 Shares of Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Hawkins, Inc. by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 14,998 shares worth approximately $2.13 million.
• Hawkins, Inc. reported an EPS of $1.40 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.33 due to revenue of $293.27 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share, up from $0.18, translating to an annualized yield of 0.4%.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 4,442 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.07% of Hawkins worth $2,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Hawkins by 533.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 266 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Hawkins by 118.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 280 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Hawkins during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Hawkins during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Hawkins by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of Hawkins stock opened at $173.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.70. Hawkins, Inc. has a one year low of $98.30 and a one year high of $186.15.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.07. Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 8.37%.The firm had revenue of $293.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.76 million. Equities analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Hawkins's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWKN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. BWS Financial lifted their target price on Hawkins from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research cut Hawkins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hawkins in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hawkins Profile

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.

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