Leanne Cutts Buys 4,000 Shares of Saputo (TSE:SAP) Stock

Key Points

• Leanne Cutts, an insider at Saputo, purchased 4,000 shares at C$32.93 each, increasing her ownership by 20.51% and bringing her total shares to 23,500.
• Saputo recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, up from the previous $0.19, with an annualized yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have generally rated the stock as a Moderate Buy, with several increasing their price targets to a range of C$34.00 to C$38.00.

Saputo Inc. (TSE:SAP - Get Free Report) insider Leanne Cutts acquired 4,000 shares of Saputo stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$32.93 per share, for a total transaction of C$131,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 23,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$773,855. This represents a 20.51% increase in their ownership of the stock.

Saputo Price Performance

TSE SAP traded down C$0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting C$34.00. 657,009 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,813. The company has a market cap of C$14.01 billion, a PE ratio of -100.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 51.68. Saputo Inc. has a fifty-two week low of C$22.59 and a fifty-two week high of C$34.75. The stock's 50 day moving average price is C$31.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$27.77.

Saputo Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Saputo's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Saputo's payout ratio is currently -223.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Saputo from C$27.00 to C$34.00 in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Saputo from C$29.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. TD Securities upped their target price on Saputo from C$35.00 to C$38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Desjardins lifted their price target on Saputo from C$31.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Saputo presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$34.63.

About Saputo

Saputo is a global dairy processor domiciled in Canada (28% of fiscal 2022 sales) with operations in the United States (43%), the U.K. (6%), and other international markets (23%). It sells cheese, cream, fluid milk, and other dairy products. In the retail segment (50% of revenue), its mix of brands include Saputo, Armstrong, Cheer, Cathedral City, and Frylight.