27,771 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc bought 27,771 Marzetti shares worth approximately $3.17 million, while institutional investors collectively own 66.44% of the company.
• Analysts remain cautious: Marzetti has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $135 target price after DA Davidson cut its target to $130; the stock recently opened at $105.39, near its 52-week low.
• Marzetti reported quarterly EPS of $1.46 on $465.03 million in revenue and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equivalent to a 3.8% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,170,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.10% of Marzetti at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,083,000. State Street Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $111,778,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,681,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,106,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at $210,312.44. The trade was 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. 29.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

• Lancaster Colony Corporation NASDAQ: LANC Is About To Raise The Dividend

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Marzetti currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Marzetti Price Performance

MZTI opened at $105.39 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a 1 year low of $104.28 and a 1 year high of $186.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $111.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.03.

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

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio is 57.39%.

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.

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