JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 43,313 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its position in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 682,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,313 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.32% of Flowers Foods worth $15,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 18,254.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Flowers Foods in the second quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Flowers Foods by 329,400.0% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,294 shares during the period. 75.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flowers Foods Price Performance

Flowers Foods stock opened at $19.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.39. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.98 and a 12-month high of $26.12.

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

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th.

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.