Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $3 Million in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,004,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $26,736,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $40,196,000. F m Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $2,417,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $4,014,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $2,226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marzetti

In other news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $210,312.44. This represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MZTI shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.33.

Marzetti Price Performance

Marzetti stock opened at $111.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $122.35 and its 200 day moving average is $147.44. The Marzetti Company has a 52-week low of $105.80 and a 52-week high of $190.96.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.