Marzetti’s (MZTI) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $140.00 price target on the stock.

MZTI has been the subject of several other reports. DA Davidson upgraded Marzetti to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of MZTI stock opened at $114.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.32. Marzetti has a one year low of $104.28 and a one year high of $186.95. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $112.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.68.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 18.22%.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is 62.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marzetti news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,312.44. This trade represents a 38.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Marzetti by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 2.1% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% 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.