Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 21,337 Shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) by 56.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 21,337 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Andersons were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANDE. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Andersons by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,337,344 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $67,054,000 after acquiring an additional 28,773 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Andersons by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,110,000 after buying an additional 46,903 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Andersons during the fourth quarter valued at about $728,000. Peoples Bank KS increased its position in shares of Andersons by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 700 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Andersons by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 785,139 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,374,000 after acquiring an additional 14,634 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Andersons Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ANDE traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 293,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,264. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.55. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.88 and a 12-month high of $61.46.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.72 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 1.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Andersons's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on ANDE. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Andersons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $772,992. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Andersons Profile

The Andersons, Inc operates in trade, renewables, and nutrient and industrial sectors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Switzerland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial. The company's Trade segment operates grain elevators; stores commodities; and provides grain marketing, risk management, and origination services, as well as sells commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, ethanol, and corn oil.