Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $2.08 Million Stake in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in The Marzetti Company by 451.1% in the first quarter, ending with 15,039 shares valued at about $2.08 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Marzetti is mixed: DA Davidson upgraded the stock to hold, while Weiss Ratings downgraded it to sell and Stephens cut its price target to $140. The current consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $169.33.
• Marzetti recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to an annualized $4.00 dividend and a 3.6% yield. The stock was trading at $112.15, well below its 52-week high of $190.96.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report) by 451.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,039 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,310 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned 0.05% of Marzetti worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at $1,118,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $367,969,000. State Street Corp acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at about $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth about $111,778,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $103,681,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Marzetti to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut Marzetti from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

Marzetti Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $112.15 on Thursday. The Marzetti Company has a 1 year low of $104.28 and a 1 year high of $190.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $113.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.54.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marzetti's payout ratio is 62.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marzetti

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total value of $133,467.51. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $210,312.44. This trade represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MZTI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.