Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,736 Shares of The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 15.2%, now owning 28,329 shares valued at approximately $4,958,000.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Marzetti, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold," while others upgraded their ratings, giving it an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $203.50.
• Marzetti recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, yielding about 2.1%, with a payout ratio of 61.79%.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,329 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Marzetti worth $4,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MZTI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Marzetti in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Marzetti by 20.9% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 602 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti in the first quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Marzetti Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MZTI traded down $3.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $185.40. 86,538 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,031. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.82. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54 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.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Marzetti's payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MZTI shares. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Marzetti from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $207.25.

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.