Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) Shares Sold by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 62.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,134 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors' holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake 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 last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 73.1% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 5,301,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239,592 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Flowers Foods by 4.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,720,302 shares of the company's stock worth $82,592,000 after purchasing an additional 160,794 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,008,103 shares of the company's stock worth $46,327,000 after purchasing an additional 58,141 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Flowers Foods by 65.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314,556 shares of the company's stock worth $29,104,000 after purchasing an additional 520,661 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE FLO traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.21. 2,068,197 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,204,649. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.37. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.95 and a 52-week high of $26.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.27 and its 200-day moving average is $22.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Flowers Foods's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is 84.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Flowers Foods from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday.

About Flowers Foods

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.