Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 4,123 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 202.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,160 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,123 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FLO. Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 128.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Flowers Foods by 7,694.7% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 1,006.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 10,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Flowers Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,619,000. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO opened at $22.62 on Friday. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $26.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.71.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 19.41% and a net margin of 4.70%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Flowers Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Flowers Foods Profile

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.