Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 23,027 Shares of The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 14.6%, owning approximately $31.69 million in shares as of their latest SEC filing.
• Marzetti's stock price increased by 6.3%, with a market cap of $5.22 billion, and its quarterly earnings exceeded estimates with a revenue of $475.43 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 61.79%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,084 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,027 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Marzetti worth $31,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the 1st quarter worth $10,456,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Marzetti by 19,025.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 53,550 shares of the company's stock worth $9,371,000 after buying an additional 53,270 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Marzetti by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company's stock worth $18,277,000 after buying an additional 49,734 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its stake in Marzetti by 366.6% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 50,241 shares of the company's stock worth $8,699,000 after buying an additional 39,474 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Marzetti by 368.5% during the 1st quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 48,672 shares of the company's stock worth $8,518,000 after buying an additional 38,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MZTI. Wall Street Zen downgraded Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $207.25.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Marzetti stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $181.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 162,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,798. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92 and a beta of 0.47. The Marzetti Company has a 12 month low of $156.14 and a 12 month high of $202.63. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $174.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.83.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $475.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.26 million. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.60%.

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.