UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 77,640 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,648 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,640 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.32% of Flowers Foods worth $13,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FLO. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,742,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,993,000 after buying an additional 314,670 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods during the fourth quarter worth $9,261,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 174,056 shares of the company's stock worth $3,596,000 after acquiring an additional 86,510 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $825,000. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FLO traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.76. 2,186,989 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,666,424. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business's fifty day moving average price is $17.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.19. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.37. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.29 and a 12-month high of $23.87.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Flowers Foods's quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.91%. This is a positive change from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 91.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FLO. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.25.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other Flowers Foods news, Director George E. Deese purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.84 per share, for a total transaction of $101,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,004,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,764,031.60. This represents a 0.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William Jameson Mcfadden acquired 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.92 per share, for a total transaction of $50,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 532,476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,009,493.92. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 12,000 shares of company stock worth $202,440. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flowers Foods Profile

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.