Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 94.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,195 shares of the company's stock after selling 129,159 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 617.3% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Flowers Foods

In other news, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,133.68. This trade represents a 7.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William Jameson Mcfadden acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.92 per share, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 532,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. The trade was a 0.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. Corporate insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of FLO traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.74. 3,347,550 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,415,113. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.58 and a twelve month high of $23.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were issued a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 91.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FLO. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.25.

About Flowers Foods

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.