Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Holdings in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 95.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,334,383 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.50% of MGP Ingredients worth $12,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth approximately $832,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 68,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth $13,125,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of MGP Ingredients in the 4th quarter worth $1,180,000. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Martin Roper acquired 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.10 per share, for a total transaction of $496,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $601,758. This trade represents a 471.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen Seaberg bought 5,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.59 per share, for a total transaction of $174,291.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 358,899 shares in the company, valued at $11,696,518.41. This represents a 1.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,417 shares of company stock worth $905,556. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MGP Ingredients Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ MGPI opened at $32.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 6.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.12 and a fifty-two week high of $92.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $697.51 million, a PE ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.32.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. MGP Ingredients had a net margin of 14.44% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $121.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. MGP Ingredients’s payout ratio is 106.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MGPI shares. Lake Street Capital upgraded MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MGP Ingredients has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.33.

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.