Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Shares Down 4.4% – Here’s What Happened

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) fell 4.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $106.14 and last traded at $106.5150. 66,778 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 305,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MZTI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Marzetti Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $465.03 million for 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Marzetti’s payout ratio is currently 57.39%.

Insider Transactions at Marzetti

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total transaction of $133,467.51. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,312.44. This represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marzetti

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MZTI. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Marzetti by 11,006.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,797,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,772,304 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the second quarter valued at approximately $313,083,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,778,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,681,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Marzetti

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.