Leeward Investments LLC MA Cuts Stock Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Leeward Investments LLC MA cut its holdings in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,449 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,635 shares during the quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned 0.16% of Marzetti worth $7,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 16.8% in the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 16.7% in the second quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 5,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 21.2% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 873,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,890,000 after purchasing an additional 153,052 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Marzetti during the second quarter worth $207,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Marzetti by 14.7% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 344,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,537,000 after buying an additional 44,279 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MZTI. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.00.

Marzetti Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $166.54 on Monday. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The company has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.86.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $475.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 8th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.60%.

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.