Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 31,876 Shares of Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,013 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,876 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Flowers Foods were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Flowers Foods by 7.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 71,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 5,085 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Flowers Foods by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,044 shares of the company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Flowers Foods by 416.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,831,000 after buying an additional 203,807 shares in the last quarter. 75.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flowers Foods Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of FLO stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.52. 1,166,911 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,191,279. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Flowers Foods, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.20 and a 12 month high of $26.12.

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.33 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Flowers Foods, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Flowers Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 84.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Flowers Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Flowers Foods Company Profile

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.