Legal & General Group Plc Purchases Shares of 34,037 The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 34,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,596,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.12% of Marzetti at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MZTI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 3.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 16.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,736,000 after acquiring an additional 30,731 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,310,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marzetti Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $107.36 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.57. The Marzetti Company has a 1-year low of $105.80 and a 1-year high of $190.96. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.33.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MZTI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.33.

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.