Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 333,379 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 3,837.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 342,067 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 333,379 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.16% of Flowers Foods worth $6,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 217,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,143,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Flowers Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,940,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Flowers Foods by 2,191.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Flowers Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 615,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,699,000 after purchasing an additional 5,147 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

FLO stock opened at $16.16 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.74 and a 52 week high of $23.87.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 4.49%. Flowers Foods's revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th were paid a $0.2475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This is a boost from Flowers Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flowers Foods

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Flowers Foods from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.25.

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.

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