Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Grows Holdings in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Ingles Markets by 20.2% in Q1, owning approximately 109,760 shares valued at $7.15 million.
• Other institutional investors also raised their positions in the company, with American Century Companies Inc. growing its stake by 11.2% and LPL Financial LLC increasing by 48.6% during the fourth quarter.
• Ingles Markets' stock has declined by 1.8%, and the company recently upgraded its rating from "hold" to "buy" as per analyst recommendations.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,760 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,412 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.58% of Ingles Markets worth $7,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ingles Markets in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ingles Markets by 811.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ingles Markets in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Ingles Markets by 296.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ingles Markets in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ingles Markets from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

Shares of Ingles Markets stock traded up $0.45 on Wednesday, reaching $63.00. 214,488 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,135. The firm's 50 day moving average is $63.57 and its 200-day moving average is $63.42. Ingles Markets, Incorporated has a one year low of $58.92 and a one year high of $82.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 3.19. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 0.71.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ingles Markets had a net margin of 1.14% and a return on equity of 3.98%.

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Ingles Markets's payout ratio is 20.25%.

About Ingles Markets

Ingles Markets, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of supermarkets in the southeast United States. It offers food products, including grocery, meat and dairy products, produce, frozen foods, and other perishables; and non-food products, which include fuel centers, pharmacies, health and beauty care products, and general merchandise, as well as private label items.