Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes $8.24 Million Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 47,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,240,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.17% of Marzetti at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MZTI. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Marzetti by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 23,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Marzetti by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 21,905 shares of the company's stock worth $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Marzetti by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,323 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $597,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Marzetti by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,385 shares of the company's stock worth $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MZTI. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marzetti currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $206.00.

Marzetti Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MZTI stock traded down $2.27 on Friday, hitting $183.02. The stock had a trading volume of 89,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,025. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $177.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.03.

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

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

About Marzetti

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.