W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Acquires 2,044 Shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,186 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,044 shares during the quarter. Ingredion makes up 0.8% of W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.'s holdings in Ingredion were worth $1,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth about $58,642,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ingredion by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,890,488 shares of the company's stock worth $260,056,000 after purchasing an additional 268,389 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ingredion by 55,219.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 174,811 shares of the company's stock worth $240,240,000 after purchasing an additional 174,495 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in Ingredion during the 3rd quarter worth about $17,094,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Ingredion by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 194,295 shares of the company's stock worth $26,109,000 after purchasing an additional 83,708 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company's stock.

Ingredion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:INGR traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $125.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 613,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 540,088. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Ingredion Incorporated has a 1 year low of $109.51 and a 1 year high of $155.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.50.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. Ingredion's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Ingredion's dividend payout ratio is 32.96%.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, CFO James D. Gray sold 54,869 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.76, for a total transaction of $8,052,574.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,795 shares in the company, valued at $1,877,794.20. This trade represents a 81.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on INGR. Barclays increased their price objective on Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut Ingredion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stephens lowered 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ingredion has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.20.

Ingredion 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.