Franklin Resources Inc. Has $3.32 Million Stock Position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,871 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,299 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.08% of Flowers Foods worth $3,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,713 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Flowers Foods by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 22,023 shares of the company's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded up $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $18.14. 181,553 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,513,444. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company's 50 day moving average is $18.64 and its 200-day moving average is $20.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.33 and a fifty-two week high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 4.86%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.29%. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FLO shares. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Flowers Foods from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Flowers Foods from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.00.

Flowers Foods Company 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.