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

Towle & Co. acquired a new stake in Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ:IMKTA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 70,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,333,000. Ingles Markets makes up 2.4% of Towle & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IMKTA. Summer Road LLC lifted its holdings in Ingles Markets by 17,247.1% during the 1st quarter. Summer Road LLC now owns 433,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,983,000 after buying an additional 431,178 shares in the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Ingles Markets by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 372,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,515,000 after buying an additional 68,909 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 167.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 102,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,118,000 after acquiring an additional 64,049 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ingles Markets by 330.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,820,000 after acquiring an additional 49,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of Ingles Markets by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,206,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,716,000 after acquiring an additional 46,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on IMKTA shares. Wall Street Zen cut Ingles Markets from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Ingles Markets from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ingles Markets news, Director Dwight L. Jacobs bought 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $88.07 per share, with a total value of $44,035.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,035. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 22.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ingles Markets Trading Down 5.3%

NASDAQ IMKTA opened at $84.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 3.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ingles Markets, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.27 and a 52 week high of $95.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.91.

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

Ingles Markets Dividend Announcement

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

Ingles Markets Company 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.