Champlain Investment Partners LLC Sells 96,229 Shares of The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 21.7%, now holding 347,794 shares valued at approximately $60.86 million.
• The Marzetti Company reported earnings of $1.33 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 5.0% year-over-year during the last quarter.
• Marzetti declared a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, which is set to be paid on September 30th, reflecting a yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 62.60%.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 347,794 shares of the company's stock after selling 96,229 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 1.26% of Marzetti worth $60,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Marzetti Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ MZTI traded up $2.04 on Monday, reaching $182.60. The stock had a trading volume of 139,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,555. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.54. The Marzetti Company has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 0.43.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 8.77%.The firm had revenue of $475.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Marzetti's payout ratio is 62.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MZTI. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark upped their price target on Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.00.

Marzetti Company 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.