Horizon Investments LLC Takes Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake of 9,801 shares in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in Q4, valued at about $1.61 million per its latest Form 13F filing.
• Several large institutions also initiated sizable positions — including M&T Bank (~$1.12B), Vanguard (~$368M), Boston Trust Walden (~$43.36M) and UBS (~$12.52M) — and institutional investors now own 66.44% of the company.
• Marzetti (market cap ~$3.22B) missed Q EPS estimates ($2.15 vs. $2.23) while revenue rose 1.7% YoY, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 (annualized $4.00, 3.4% yield), and carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $169.33.

Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,611,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth $1,118,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $367,969,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,355,000. UBS Group AG bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,519,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,524,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Marzetti Trading Down 1.0%

Marzetti stock opened at $117.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.82 and a 200-day moving average of $158.10. The Marzetti Company has a 1 year low of $111.04 and a 1 year high of $190.96.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 9.06%.The firm had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MZTI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.33.

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.

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