25,988 Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Bought by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $1,598,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $3,668,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 136.4% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 813,886 shares of the company's stock worth $16,815,000 after purchasing an additional 469,652 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Flowers Foods by 70.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 28,266 shares of the company's stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 11,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $415,000. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FLO. Truist Financial cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of FLO traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $17.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,081,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,743. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.29 and a 12 month high of $23.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $17.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.36.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.03). Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Caldecot Chubb III bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.88 per share, with a total value of $50,640.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,133.68. This trade represents a 7.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.