Advisory Services Network LLC Purchases 2,181 Shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 102.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Ingredion were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ingredion by 75.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 194,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,109,000 after acquiring an additional 83,708 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ingredion by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 725,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,683,000 after purchasing an additional 10,812 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Ingredion by 606.2% in the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 38,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,230,000 after purchasing an additional 32,639 shares during the period. Fractal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ingredion by 13.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,030,000 after purchasing an additional 35,657 shares during the period. 85.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ingredion Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Ingredion stock opened at $130.19 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $130.44 and its 200 day moving average is $135.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.72. Ingredion Incorporated has a 1 year low of $109.51 and a 1 year high of $155.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during 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 was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ingredion news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of Ingredion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,295,906.76. The trade was a 24.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on INGR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens decreased their price target on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $145.00 target price (down from $165.00) on shares of Ingredion in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.60.

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.