LPL Financial LLC Trims Stake in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN)

LPL Financial LLC decreased its position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,497 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,463 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Hawkins were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HWKN. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Hawkins by 155.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hawkins by 262.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 442 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Hawkins by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 948 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Hawkins during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.71% of the company's stock.

Hawkins Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWKN traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $120.68. The company had a trading volume of 11,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,971. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $110.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Hawkins, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.98 and a twelve month high of $139.55.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWKN has been the subject of several research reports. BWS Financial upgraded Hawkins from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. CJS Securities began coverage on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "market outperform" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock.

About Hawkins

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.