AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 1,801 Shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE:INGR) by 286.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,429 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Ingredion were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in INGR. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Ingredion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ingredion during the third quarter worth $41,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Ingredion during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Ingredion by 431.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ingredion in the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors own 85.27% of the company’s stock.

Ingredion Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE INGR opened at $131.37 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $131.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.54. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.75.

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.09. Ingredion had a return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 8.71%. The business had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Ingredion’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ingredion Incorporated will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingredion Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Ingredion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on INGR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ingredion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ingredion from $178.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Ingredion from $147.00 to $133.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stephens cut their target price on Ingredion from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ingredion from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.20.

Insider Activity at Ingredion

In related news, CEO James P. Zallie sold 10,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 34,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,295,906.76. This trade represents a 24.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.