Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 51,466 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. $FLO

Alps Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 24.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 158,165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,466 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $2,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning boosted its position in Flowers Foods by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 730,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,672,000 after acquiring an additional 137,131 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 267,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,281,000 after acquiring an additional 99,744 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 179,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 38,653 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,830,000. Finally, Thomasville National Bank boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 64.7% during the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 703,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,184,000 after purchasing an additional 276,411 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.87, for a total value of $2,271,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,022,380 shares in the company, valued at $11,113,270.60. The trade was a 16.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 11.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of FLO stock opened at $11.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $9.93 and a one year high of $20.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $10.98 and its 200 day moving average is $12.58.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.2475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.4%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FLO shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Flowers Foods from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Flowers Foods in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.67.

Flowers Foods Profile

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.