Pullen Investment Management LLC Takes Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MZTI. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marzetti has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.67.

Marzetti Price Performance

NASDAQ MZTI opened at $141.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.47. The Marzetti Company has a 12-month low of $136.72 and a 12-month high of $193.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.56.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.25%.The business had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. 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.