The Marzetti Company $MZTI Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 803,707 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,875 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Marzetti were worth $111,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MZTI. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $1,118,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $367,969,000. State Street Corp acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $160,722,000. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $103,681,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $90,106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MZTI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stephens decreased their target price on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Marzetti to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of Marzetti stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total transaction of $133,467.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,312.44. This trade represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Stock Performance

NASDAQ MZTI opened at $106.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.20. The Marzetti Company has a fifty-two week low of $104.28 and a fifty-two week high of $190.96.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.60%.

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.