Barnett & Company Inc. Reduces Holdings in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Barnett & Company Inc. lowered its position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the period. Barnett & Company Inc.’s holdings in MGP Ingredients were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGPI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,126,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,180,000. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in MGP Ingredients by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 38,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 1,167.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients by 200.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 4,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MGPI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of MGP Ingredients from $58.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Lake Street Capital upgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on MGP Ingredients from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00.

MGP Ingredients Price Performance

MGPI opened at $29.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 6.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $628.53 million, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.66. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.53 and a 52 week high of $92.52.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.79%.

Insider Activity at MGP Ingredients

In other MGP Ingredients news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 28,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.82, for a total transaction of $872,329.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 283,569 shares in the company, valued at $8,739,596.58. This represents a 9.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MGP Ingredients 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.