M&T Bank Corp Has $1.85 Million Stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 1,270.0% in Q4 to 170,086 shares, worth about $1.85 million (roughly 0.08% of the company).
• CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares on April 1 for about $1.68 million, reducing his holding by 20.44%; company insiders now own 11.57% of the stock.
• Flowers Foods pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2475 (annualized $0.99) for a 11.1% yield247.5%, raising sustainability concerns.

M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 1,270.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,086 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 157,671 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.08% of Flowers Foods worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,371,965 shares of the company's stock worth $57,054,000 after buying an additional 521,670 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $1,818,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 139.1% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,295,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499,194 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 249.8% during the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 253,542 shares of the company's stock worth $3,309,000 after acquiring an additional 181,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,057.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 343,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,489,000 after acquiring an additional 314,247 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

In other news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 813,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 11.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FLO. Stephens set a $11.00 price objective on Flowers Foods in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Flowers Foods from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $11.17.

Flowers Foods Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE FLO opened at $8.94 on Wednesday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.86 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.39.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 1.59%.The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.1%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 247.50%.

Flowers Foods Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature's Own, Wonder, Dave's Killer Bread, Mrs.

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