Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $172.03 and traded as high as $174.86. Marzetti shares last traded at $171.69, with a volume of 139,011 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MZTI. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Marzetti from $179.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.33.

Marzetti Trading Down 0.8%

The stock has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.03.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.01. Marzetti had a net margin of 8.77% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The company had revenue of $482.78 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is currently 64.94%.

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Marzetti by 2.0% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Marzetti by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 23,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,075,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Marzetti by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Marzetti by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,936,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.