Retirement Systems of Alabama Makes New Investment in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama opened a new position in The Marzetti Company, acquiring 24,411 shares valued at about $4.01 million and holding 0.09% of the company; overall institutional investors own 66.44% of MZTI.
• Several analysts have trimmed price targets and ratings, leaving a consensus rating of Hold with a consensus target price of $182.67.
• Marzetti missed quarterly EPS ($2.15 vs. $2.23 est.) on revenue of $509.77 million (+1.7% YoY); the company has a $3.92 billion market cap, a PE of 21.89, and pays a $1.00 quarterly dividend (2.8% yield, 61.3% payout ratio).

Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 24,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,014,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.09% of Marzetti as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MZTI. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter worth about $175,000. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter worth about $231,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $599,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MZTI. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson reduced their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.67.

Marzetti Stock Up 0.9%

MZTI opened at $142.97 on Tuesday. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $136.72 and a twelve month high of $193.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.17. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 0.47.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The company had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. Marzetti's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.26%.

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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