National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) Shares Gap Up to $44.12

National Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:FIZZ) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $44.12, but opened at $45.16. National Beverage shares last traded at $46.85, with a volume of 16,450 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of National Beverage from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday.

National Beverage Stock Up 1.0 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 0.79.

National Beverage Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a $3.25 dividend. This is a boost from National Beverage’s previous dividend of $3.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cecil D. Conlee sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.94, for a total value of $575,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,899,411.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 75.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FIZZ. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in National Beverage by 13.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 12,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in National Beverage by 0.8% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 82,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in National Beverage by 50.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 196,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,229,000 after purchasing an additional 65,702 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in National Beverage by 67.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 210,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,920,000 after purchasing an additional 84,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in National Beverage by 4.8% during the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 14,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. 23.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Beverage Company Profile

National Beverage Corp., through its subsidiaries, develops, produces, markets, and sells a portfolio of sparkling waters, juices, energy drinks, and carbonated soft drinks primarily in the United States and Canada. The company's Power+ brand portfolio offers sparkling water products under the LaCroix, LaCroix Cúrate, and LaCroix NiCola; non-carbonated flavored water under the Clear Fruit; energy drink and shots under the Rip It; juice and juice-based products under Everfresh, Everfresh Premier Varietals, and Mr.