Equity Investment Corp Sells 154,434 Shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Equity Investment Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 789,707 shares of the company's stock after selling 154,434 shares during the quarter. Ingredion accounts for approximately 2.5% of Equity Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Equity Investment Corp owned about 1.21% of Ingredion worth $108,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ingredion during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ingredion in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Ingredion during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 431.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 446 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ingredion during the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of INGR stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $130.55. 644,731 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 574,459. The firm has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $132.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.59. Ingredion Incorporated has a 1 year low of $109.51 and a 1 year high of $155.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Ingredion's payout ratio is 32.96%.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Stephens cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Ingredion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ingredion currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.20.

About Ingredion

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.