Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,211 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.27% of Hawkins worth $6,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Hawkins by 487.7% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 254,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $31,260,000 after purchasing an additional 211,472 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the fourth quarter worth about $13,087,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hawkins by 900.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,166,000 after purchasing an additional 74,320 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hawkins by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $18,353,000 after purchasing an additional 57,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,850,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWKN traded up $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $122.67. 24,573 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,457. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.98 and a fifty-two week high of $139.55. The business's 50-day moving average is $109.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 8.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HWKN. CJS Securities started coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. BWS Financial upgraded Hawkins from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.