Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,440 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 4,610 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Hawkins were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWKN. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hawkins during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Hawkins by 155.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 355 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hawkins during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Hawkins by 262.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 442 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hawkins by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWKN has been the subject of several research reports. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Hawkins in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hawkins from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, CJS Securities began coverage on Hawkins in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company.

Hawkins Stock Down 0.7%

HWKN opened at $137.28 on Friday. Hawkins, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.24 and a 1 year high of $140.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.85.

Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Hawkins had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $245.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.69 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Hawkins, Inc. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hawkins Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Hawkins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.82%.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc operates as a specialty chemical and ingredients company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Industrial, Water Treatment, and Health and Nutrition. The Industrial segment offers industrial chemicals, products, and services to agriculture, chemical processing, electronics, energy, food, pharmaceutical, and plating industries.