Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 67 Shares of The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Marzetti were worth $395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Marzetti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Marzetti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Marzetti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Marzetti by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MZTI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.00.

Marzetti Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $185.29 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $177.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.53 and a beta of 0.43.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company had revenue of $475.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $455.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio is 62.60%.

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.