GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes $513,000 Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Marzetti by 3.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Marzetti by 4.5% during 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Marzetti by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,736,000 after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Marzetti in the 1st quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Trading Down 1.1%

MZTI stock opened at $111.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.26. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.32. The Marzetti Company has a 12 month low of $104.28 and a 12 month high of $190.96.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MZTI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Marzetti to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $154.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Marzetti news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total value of $133,467.51. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,312.44. The trade was a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

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.