Marshall Wace LLP Raises Holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) by 25.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,078 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 10,838 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CALM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,795,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,219,000 after acquiring an additional 23,915 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,863,000 after purchasing an additional 114,995 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,115,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,286,000 after purchasing an additional 110,900 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,013,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,948,000 after purchasing an additional 82,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $47,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $106,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,361.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $106,395.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,361.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total value of $210,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,762. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $422,970 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM opened at $75.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37 and a beta of -0.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.14. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.25 and a 52 week high of $77.11.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $785.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.65 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 71.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.02 EPS.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.61%.

About Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, and 4Grain brand names.