Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 9,956 Shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Ingredion Incorporated by 62.5%, owning a total of 25,879 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million after additional purchases in the first quarter.
• Research analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Ingredion, with a target price averaging $151.40, following upgrades and changes in ratings by major firms.
• Ingredion recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, representing an annualized rate of $3.20 and a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 62.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,879 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,956 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Ingredion were worth $3,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Ingredion by 766.7% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 230,317 shares of the company's stock worth $31,141,000 after acquiring an additional 203,742 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ingredion by 5.8% in the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Ingredion in the first quarter worth $41,000. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Ingredion by 14.1% in the first quarter. Horizon Family Wealth Inc. now owns 3,332 shares of the company's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ingredion in the first quarter worth $3,613,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:INGR traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.35. 345,997 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 512,299. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.78. Ingredion Incorporated has a one year low of $120.51 and a one year high of $155.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.89 and a 200 day moving average of $133.28.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.09. Ingredion had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.24%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.87 earnings per share. Ingredion's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.39, for a total value of $109,131.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,002,044.69. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on INGR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ingredion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ingredion from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ingredion presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.40.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.