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. grew its position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,084 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,027 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.66% of Marzetti worth $31,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MZTI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Marzetti by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 602 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Marzetti Price Performance

Marzetti stock traded down $2.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $179.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,990. The Marzetti Company has a 1-year low of $156.14 and a 1-year high of $202.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.86. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MZTI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.00.

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.