7,062 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Acquired by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 7,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,161,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MZTI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Trading Down 2.8%

Marzetti stock opened at $113.69 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a 1-year low of $111.04 and a 1-year high of $190.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.38.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 9.06%.The business had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is 62.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MZTI shares. Stephens lowered their target price on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marzetti has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.33.

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.