DA Davidson Cuts Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Price Target to $168.00

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) had its price objective lowered by DA Davidson from $184.00 to $168.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MZTI. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marzetti currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.67.

Marzetti Price Performance

Shares of Marzetti stock opened at $139.38 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34 and a beta of 0.40. Marzetti has a 12 month low of $138.43 and a 12 month high of $193.40.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The business had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Marzetti will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.26%.

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MZTI. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $529,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $506,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,355,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,118,569,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $629,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Company Profile

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.