Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,104 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,211 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.27% of Hawkins worth $6,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in Hawkins by 487.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 254,837 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,260,000 after purchasing an additional 211,472 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth about $13,087,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hawkins by 900.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,576 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,166,000 after buying an additional 74,320 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Hawkins by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $18,353,000 after buying an additional 57,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth about $5,850,000. 69.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HWKN shares. BWS Financial raised shares of Hawkins from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. CJS Securities began coverage on Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock.

Hawkins Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of HWKN traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $119.93. 80,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day moving average is $108.65 and its 200-day moving average is $117.58. Hawkins, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.98 and a fifty-two week high of $139.55.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.05). Hawkins had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 18.95%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hawkins's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.37%.

Hawkins Company Profile

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.