Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Holdings in MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its stake in shares of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGPI - Free Report) by 79.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,867 shares of the company's stock after selling 149,826 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of MGP Ingredients worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 114.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,913 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in MGP Ingredients during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,996 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in MGP Ingredients by 1,167.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,480 shares during the last quarter. 77.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martin Roper bought 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.10 per share, with a total value of $496,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,180 shares in the company, valued at $601,758. This trade represents a 471.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 34.40% of the company's stock.

MGP Ingredients Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of MGPI stock traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.52. 350,936 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,428. MGP Ingredients, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.12 and a 1 year high of $92.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $30.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $627.89 million, a PE ratio of 65.60 and a beta of 0.32.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $121.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.14 million. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 12.48% and a net margin of 1.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 28.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that MGP Ingredients, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. MGP Ingredients's payout ratio is 106.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MGPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Lake Street Capital raised MGP Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $55.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on MGP Ingredients from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MGP Ingredients from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MGP Ingredients has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.33.

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.