MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,737 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,101 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Ingredion worth $5,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Ingredion by 519.7% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 55,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,664,000 after buying an additional 46,726 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Ingredion by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 583,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,209,000 after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Ingredion by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ingredion by 220.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,890 shares of the company's stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ingredion Trading Up 0.1 %

INGR traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $130.19. 340,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 462,450. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.62. Ingredion Incorporated has a one year low of $111.54 and a one year high of $155.44.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. Ingredion's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Ingredion's payout ratio is 32.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens decreased their price target on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer reduced 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, April 22nd. UBS Group set a $155.00 target price on shares of Ingredion in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ingredion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ingredion presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $152.20.

Insider Activity

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

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.