Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,300 shares during the period. Ingredion comprises approximately 1.9% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Ingredion worth $40,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,000. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 27,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ingredion by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ingredion by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 4,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Ingredion in the fourth quarter valued at about $727,000. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 6,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.66, for a total value of $861,120.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,083,922.44. This represents a 17.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James D. Gray sold 54,869 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were 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 owns 12,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,877,794.20. This trade represents a 81.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,992 shares of company stock valued at $8,913,841 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on INGR shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a 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, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.33.

Ingredion Price Performance

INGR stock opened at $127.66 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.28. Ingredion Incorporated has a 12 month low of $107.77 and a 12 month high of $155.44. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.74.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Ingredion had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 18.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.96%.

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.