Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,264 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,885 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Hawkins were worth $154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HWKN. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Hawkins by 180.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $5,064,000 after buying an additional 25,545 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Hawkins by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,729 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,561,000 after buying an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Hawkins by 168.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 373 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Hawkins by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 948 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, SkyOak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth about $280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ HWKN traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $132.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,875. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.88 and a 1 year high of $139.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $118.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.87.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The company had revenue of $245.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.69 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on HWKN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hawkins from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. BWS Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, CJS Securities started coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company.

Hawkins Company 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.