Towle & Co. Acquires New Position in Ingles Markets, Incorporated $IMKTA

Towle & Co. bought a new position in shares of Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 70,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,333,000. Ingles Markets accounts for about 2.4% of Towle & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Towle & Co. owned approximately 0.37% of Ingles Markets at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 330.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,820,000 after buying an additional 49,695 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 60.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Ingles Markets by 27.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ingles Markets by 3.3% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ingles Markets by 0.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 916,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,356,000 after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the period. 62.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dwight L. Jacobs purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $88.07 per share, for a total transaction of $44,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,035. This represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 22.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on IMKTA. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ingles Markets from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ingles Markets has an average rating of “Hold”.

Ingles Markets Price Performance

Ingles Markets stock opened at $84.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.91. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.61. Ingles Markets, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.27 and a 1 year high of $95.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 3.34.

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter. Ingles Markets had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 6.41%.

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Ingles Markets’s dividend payout ratio is 12.02%.

Ingles Markets Profile

Ingles Markets, Inc (NASDAQ: IMKTA) is a family?owned regional supermarket chain headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina. Since its founding in 1963 by Robert P. Ingle Sr., the company has grown to serve communities across the southeastern United States, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. Ingles Markets operates a full-service grocery platform, delivering a broad assortment of fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery items, deli offerings and dairy products alongside pantry staples and household essentials.

In addition to traditional grocery departments, Ingles Markets provides in-store pharmacy services and fuel centers at many of its locations.