Vest Financial LLC Invests $2.50 Million in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ingredion by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,214 shares of the company's stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Ingredion in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ingredion by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 4,889 shares of the company's stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE INGR traded down $0.84 on Wednesday, hitting $138.16. 249,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 472,523. The company's 50-day moving average price is $133.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Ingredion Incorporated has a 52-week low of $111.54 and a 52-week high of $155.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.73.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.53. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on INGR shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, UBS Group set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Ingredion in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.20.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In other news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.82, for a total transaction of $325,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,345,696.72. This represents a 6.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.