Engineers Gate Manager LP Lowers Holdings in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Engineers Gate Manager LP trimmed its holdings in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,176 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,495 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Marzetti were worth $1,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MZTI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the second quarter worth $313,083,000. Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,681,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,041,000. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,015,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,133,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MZTI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

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

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of Marzetti stock opened at $101.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.91. The Marzetti Company has a one year low of $98.00 and a one year high of $182.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued 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 4.0%. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.39%.

Insider Activity at Marzetti

In other news, CEO Luis Viso sold 997 shares of Marzetti stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.81, for a total transaction of $100,507.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,548.07. The trade was a 48.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.10% of the company's stock.

Marzetti Company Profile

Marzetti is a food manufacturer and marketer known for producing salad dressings, dips, sauces, frozen breads, pasta products and other specialty foods. Its products are sold through retail grocery channels and are also supplied to restaurants, foodservice operators and other institutional customers.

The company's portfolio includes the Marzetti, Sister Schubert's, New York Bakery, Flatout, Reames, Cardini's and Girard's brands, among others. Its offerings range from refrigerated and shelf-stable dressings and dips to frozen rolls, garlic bread, flatbreads, frozen noodles and related prepared foods.

Marzetti traces its origins to a restaurant opened by Teresa Marzetti in Columbus, Ohio, in 1896.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MZTI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.