The Marzetti Company $MZTI Shares Acquired by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 18.0%, owning a total of 12,710 shares valued at $2,224,000 as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Marzetti's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with $1.33 earnings per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31, and revenues reported at $475.43 million.
• The company declared a $0.95 dividend to be paid on September 30th, representing an annualized yield of 2.1% with a payout ratio of 62.60%.

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,710 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Marzetti were worth $2,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MZTI. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.00.

Marzetti Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:MZTI traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $182.45. 38,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,601. The stock's 50-day moving average is $176.18 and its 200-day moving average is $176.57. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.43. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The firm had revenue of $475.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $455.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marzetti's payout ratio is currently 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.