ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $6.58 Million Stock Position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,778 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,013 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of MGP Ingredients worth $6,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 13.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 5,249 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 9.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 11,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 22.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 54.9% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the period. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGP Ingredients

In other news, VP Erika Lapish purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.86 per share, with a total value of $38,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,823. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 28.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on MGPI shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of MGP Ingredients in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MGP Ingredients from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

MGP Ingredients Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ MGPI traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 275,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,487. The company has a current ratio of 4.51, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.27. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.78 and a 1-year high of $124.96.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 16.03%. The company’s revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.00%.

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.