Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Shares Down 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) were down 5.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $107.91 and last traded at $108.1810. Approximately 53,880 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 296,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MZTI shares. Stephens dropped their target price 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. DA Davidson raised shares of Marzetti to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marzetti has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.

Marzetti Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $111.74 and a 200 day moving average of $138.58.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marzetti

In other news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marzetti

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MZTI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Marzetti by 148.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Marzetti by 447.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Marzetti by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 29.8% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 25,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 5,776 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter worth $365,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

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.