The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $2.23 Million Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 19,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,231,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in Marzetti during the second quarter valued at about $749,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti in the second quarter worth about $316,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Marzetti in the second quarter worth about $2,835,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the 2nd quarter valued at about $855,000. Finally, Paralel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,912,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marzetti news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $111.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.54. The Marzetti Company has a 52-week low of $104.28 and a 52-week high of $186.95.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 9.93%.The business had revenue of $465.03 million during the quarter.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Marzetti’s payout ratio is presently 57.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MZTI has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $135.00.

Marzetti 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.