Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Stake in Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 431.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 446 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Ingredion were worth $61,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ingredion during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ingredion during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ingredion during the second quarter valued at $56,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Ingredion by 82.6% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 493 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ingredion in the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of Ingredion to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Ingredion from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ingredion from $128.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ingredion from $147.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.17.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In other news, SVP Larry Fernandes sold 4,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.41, for a total value of $721,027.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,454,105.94. The trade was a 13.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James D. Gray sold 54,869 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,877,794.20. The trade was a 81.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,197 shares of company stock worth $9,702,325. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Ingredion Stock Performance

Shares of Ingredion stock opened at $136.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $142.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.96. Ingredion Incorporated has a 52 week low of $106.03 and a 52 week high of $155.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.75.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by $0.47. Ingredion had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ingredion Incorporated will post 10.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ingredion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.22%.

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.