68,077 Shares in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Purchased by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 68,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,571,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,851,682 shares of the company's stock worth $129,907,000 after acquiring an additional 242,797 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in Flowers Foods by 73.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,301,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,694,000 after buying an additional 2,239,592 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Flowers Foods by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,623,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,631,000 after buying an additional 54,757 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,720,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,592,000 after purchasing an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,008,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,327,000 after purchasing an additional 58,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FLO traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $22.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,575,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,191,385. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.20 and a 52 week high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 19.41%. The business had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Flowers Foods's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Flowers Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.21%.

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.