6,266 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Bought by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,060,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 30,731 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,014,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,226,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the first quarter valued at about $2,310,000. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,029,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Price Performance

Marzetti stock opened at $136.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.45 and its 200 day moving average is $161.53. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95 and a beta of 0.47. The Marzetti Company has a one year low of $133.79 and a one year high of $193.40.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is 61.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MZTI. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.67.

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.