Barclays PLC Increases Holdings in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 104.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,865 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,574 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.15% of Ingredion worth $13,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of INGR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ingredion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,012,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ingredion by 38,341.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 509,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,067,000 after buying an additional 508,027 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ingredion in the 4th quarter worth about $58,642,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Ingredion by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 652,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,790,000 after acquiring an additional 314,912 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ingredion by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,890,488 shares of the company's stock worth $260,056,000 after acquiring an additional 268,389 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.88, for a total value of $1,361,392.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,295,906.76. This represents a 24.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on INGR shares. Stephens dropped their target price on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Ingredion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $145.00 price target (down previously from $165.00) on shares of Ingredion in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Ingredion from $167.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ingredion has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $150.20.

Ingredion Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE INGR traded up $2.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $130.58. 327,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,878. The stock has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.72. Ingredion Incorporated has a 52 week low of $111.54 and a 52 week high of $155.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.09. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Ingredion's revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.96%.

Ingredion Company Profile

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.