Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases Shares of 9,100 The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MZTI. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at $40,196,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at $26,736,000. F m Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $2,417,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Marzetti by 3,214.6% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 23,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,320,000 after buying an additional 23,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $1,839,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MZTI shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marzetti

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

Marzetti Stock Performance

NASDAQ MZTI opened at $112.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $112.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.19. The Marzetti Company has a fifty-two week low of $104.28 and a fifty-two week high of $186.95.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $465.03 million during the quarter. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 9.93%.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.39%.

Marzetti 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.