Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Grows Stock Position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its stake in Ingredion by 2.0% during the first quarter, now holding 151,200 shares valued at approximately $20.4 million.
• Recent insider activity includes SVP Larry Fernandes selling 2,400 shares at an average price of $135.82, representing a 6.98% decrease in his ownership.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Ingredion, with an average target price of $151.40 and some firms upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,200 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.24% of Ingredion worth $20,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INGR. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ingredion by 40.2% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 279 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ingredion by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the company's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC grew its position in shares of Ingredion by 5.7% during the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Ingredion by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 6,854 shares of the company's stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Ingredion by 4.3% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,624 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Ingredion Stock Performance

NYSE:INGR traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.88. The stock had a trading volume of 74,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,555. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.64. Ingredion Incorporated has a 12-month low of $118.85 and a 12-month high of $155.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.72.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.53. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.53% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.08 EPS. Ingredion's quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.76%.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.82, for a total value of $325,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 31,996 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,696.72. This trade represents a 6.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INGR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ingredion from $149.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.40.

About Ingredion

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.