Pullen Investment Management LLC Invests $1.03 Million in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Marzetti by 16.1% during the first 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. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth about $4,014,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,226,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,310,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $898,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Price Performance

Marzetti stock opened at $141.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.47. The Marzetti Company has a 12-month low of $136.72 and a 12-month high of $193.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $155.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.56.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The company had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. Marzetti’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MZTI. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.67.

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.