MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) Stock Position Reduced by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in MGP Ingredients were worth $2,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MGPI. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,873,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,427,000 after purchasing an additional 349,237 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,549,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,092,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,956,000 after purchasing an additional 86,892 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 999.3% during the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 89,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,680,000 after purchasing an additional 81,579 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 217,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,932,000 after purchasing an additional 79,791 shares during the period. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MGP Ingredients

In other news, VP Erika Lapish purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.86 per share, for a total transaction of $38,930.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 550 shares in the company, valued at $42,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 28.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MGPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th.

MGP Ingredients Stock Up 1.2 %

MGPI opened at $79.08 on Wednesday. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.78 and a 12 month high of $124.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.51 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.61.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.26. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $214.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.87 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.00%.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

MGP Ingredients, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions.