5,900 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Marzetti news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total value of $133,467.51. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,312.44. This trade represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MZTI shares. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marzetti presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of MZTI opened at $115.79 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.96 and a 200-day moving average of $141.79. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 0.32. The Marzetti Company has a 1 year low of $104.28 and a 1 year high of $190.96.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is 62.60%.

Marzetti 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.