Principal Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 63.9% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 414.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 401 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 40.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 359 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Ingredion by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 425 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ingredion during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. 85.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Stock Performance

Shares of Ingredion stock traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $120.22. 426,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 325,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.81. Ingredion Incorporated has a 1 year low of $89.54 and a 1 year high of $120.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.90.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.08. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.45% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ingredion Incorporated will post 9.67 EPS for the current year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Ingredion's payout ratio is 31.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on INGR. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Ingredion in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ingredion from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ingredion from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on Ingredion from $115.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ingredion from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ingredion currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.17.

Insider Transactions at Ingredion

In related news, VP Davida Marie Gable sold 1,968 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total transaction of $231,003.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $202,245.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ingredion news, VP Davida Marie Gable sold 1,968 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.38, for a total value of $231,003.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,245.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James P. Zallie sold 54,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.24, for a total transaction of $6,399,076.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 99,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,635,601.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,289 shares of company stock valued at $7,185,108 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.