54,954 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Acquired by Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec acquired 54,954 Marzetti shares worth approximately $6.27 million, joining several other institutions that initiated positions during the second quarter. Institutions and hedge funds now own 66.44% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Marzetti has a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $135 price target after DA Davidson cut its target to $130; the stock recently traded around $114.84.
• Marzetti reported quarterly EPS of $1.46 on $465.03 million in revenue and declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.5% yield and $4.00 annualized payout.

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 54,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,274,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned about 0.20% of Marzetti at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MZTI. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,075,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti during the second quarter worth $6,173,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti during the second quarter worth $748,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Marzetti during the second quarter valued at $1,039,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Marzetti during the second quarter valued at $3,170,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $210,312.44. The trade was a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Several equities research analysts have commented on MZTI shares. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research 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, Marzetti currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Marzetti Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of MZTI stock opened at $114.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.68. The Marzetti Company has a 1-year low of $104.28 and a 1-year high of $186.95. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

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 net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 18.22%.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Marzetti's payout ratio is currently 57.39%.

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.

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