Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Stake in Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE:DAR) by 28.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,008,227 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,134 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Darling Ingredients were worth $50,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Darling Ingredients by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Darling Ingredients in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Darling Ingredients Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAR opened at $43.15 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.61. Darling Ingredients Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.97 and a 12 month high of $71.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.29.

Darling Ingredients (NYSE:DAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.12). Darling Ingredients had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 9.54%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darling Ingredients Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAR has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Darling Ingredients from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Darling Ingredients from $73.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darling Ingredients presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kurt Stoffel purchased 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $41.62 per share, for a total transaction of $332,960.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $439,965.02. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Darling Ingredients Company Profile

Darling Ingredients Inc develops, produces, and sells natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients in North America, Europe, China, South America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients, and Fuel Ingredients. It offers ingredients and customized specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy, and fertilizer industries.