Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM Shares Sold by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC reduced its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 19.6%, now owning 0.78% of the company worth approximately $34.9 million.
• Cal-Maine Foods reported a significant quarterly earnings increase, with an EPS of $7.04 compared to the estimate of $5.29, and a revenue rise of 72.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $3.46, representing a 12.6% yield, up from the previous dividend of $1.49.

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 384,012 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 93,465 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.78% of Cal-Maine Foods worth $34,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CALM. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,509 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 126,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $12,975,000 after acquiring an additional 11,882 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,884 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 14,284 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 191.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 167,736 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,264,000 after acquiring an additional 110,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 106,721 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,983,000 after acquiring an additional 8,810 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CALM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cal-Maine Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Cal-Maine Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Cal-Maine Foods stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $110.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 411,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 652,496. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $108.87 and its 200 day moving average is $99.15. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.81 and a 1-year high of $126.40.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $7.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $1.75. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $877.03 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 54.81% and a net margin of 28.63%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 72.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $3.46 per share. This is a boost from Cal-Maine Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $1.49. This represents a $13.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Cal-Maine Foods's payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Cal-Maine Foods Profile

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, and 4Grain brand names.