Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,359 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in MGP Ingredients were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in MGP Ingredients in the third quarter worth about $61,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MGP Ingredients by 219.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 721 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in MGP Ingredients by 76.2% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 953 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in MGP Ingredients in the second quarter worth about $123,000. 77.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MGP Ingredients news, VP Erika Lapish purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.86 per share, with a total value of $38,930.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,823. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 2,544 shares of MGP Ingredients stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.68, for a total transaction of $253,585.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,519,979.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Erika Lapish purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.86 per share, for a total transaction of $38,930.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,823. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 28.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MGPI. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of MGP Ingredients in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st.

MGP Ingredients Stock Performance

NASDAQ MGPI opened at $85.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 4.51 and a quick ratio of 1.47. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.78 and a 1-year high of $124.96.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $214.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $206.87 million. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 16.03% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.00%.

About MGP Ingredients

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.