State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Stock Holdings in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,916 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,321 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $3,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FLO. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 5.3% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 105.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 31,752 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 6.1% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flowers Foods in the third quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 5.3% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total transaction of $845,294.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,721.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Edward J. Jr. Casey bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.55 per share, with a total value of $117,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,330 shares in the company, valued at $478,771.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Terry S. Thomas sold 36,577 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.11, for a total value of $845,294.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,721.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.49% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $24.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.45, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.64 and a 1 year high of $29.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.43.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.13 billion. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 18.15% and a net margin of 2.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Flowers Foods’s payout ratio is currently 158.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FLO shares. StockNews.com raised Flowers Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. DA Davidson started coverage on Flowers Foods in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Flowers Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.00.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc produces and markets packaged bakery food products in the United States. Its principal products include fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack items, bagels, English muffins, and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls under the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Mrs.