Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,223 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,758 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Marzetti worth $3,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marzetti by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,736,000 after purchasing an additional 30,731 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Marzetti by 6.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 200,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,153,000 after buying an additional 12,015 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Marzetti by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 181,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,690,000 after buying an additional 23,027 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Marzetti by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 146,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,599,000 after acquiring an additional 11,790 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Marzetti by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 61,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MZTI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Marzetti currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.00.

Marzetti Trading Down 1.2%

MZTI stock opened at $183.02 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $177.71 and its 200 day moving average is $176.03. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15 and a beta of 0.43. The Marzetti Company has a 1-year low of $156.14 and a 1-year high of $202.63.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $475.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $455.26 million. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.