Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $105.72 and last traded at $106.3450, with a volume of 139327 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $108.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Marzetti Stock Down 3.7%

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.33.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.60%.

Insider Activity at Marzetti

In other news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total transaction of $133,467.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at $210,312.44. This represents a 38.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MZTI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Marzetti by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Marzetti by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,736,000 after purchasing an additional 30,731 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Marzetti in the first quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti during the first quarter worth about $2,310,000. Hedge funds and other 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.