Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Takes $950,000 Position in Hawkins, Inc. $HWKN

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hawkins by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,504,831 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $274,963,000 after buying an additional 41,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hawkins by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 478,348 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,981,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Hawkins by 50.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 282,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,122,000 after acquiring an additional 94,503 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Hawkins by 130.7% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 149,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,229,000 after acquiring an additional 84,651 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Hawkins by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 148,173 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $21,055,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWKN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hawkins from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 target price on shares of Hawkins in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hawkins from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hawkins currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Insider Activity at Hawkins

In related news, Director James A. Faulconbridge acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $129.29 per share, for a total transaction of $193,935.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,907 shares in the company, valued at $6,581,766.03. This trade represents a 3.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hawkins Stock Performance

Shares of HWKN opened at $146.63 on Thursday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.30 and a 12-month high of $186.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $146.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.41.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.03). Hawkins had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 7.75%.The business had revenue of $244.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $252.51 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hawkins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.24%.

Hawkins Profile

Hawkins, Inc (NASDAQ: HWKN) is a specialty chemical company that produces and distributes water-treatment and industrial chemicals across North America. Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Roseville, Minnesota, the company has built a network of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers that serve municipal, industrial and commercial customers. As a publicly traded entity, Hawkins leverages its long-standing presence in the chemical distribution industry to provide tailored solutions for complex water-treatment challenges and specialty chemical needs.

Hawkins’ product portfolio encompasses a wide range of chemicals, including sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine, acids and specialty blends.