Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Purchases New Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MZTI. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Marzetti by 3.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Marzetti by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Marzetti by 16.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,736,000 after purchasing an additional 30,731 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the first quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 1st quarter valued at $2,310,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Marzetti stock opened at $141.64 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a fifty-two week low of $136.72 and a fifty-two week high of $193.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $155.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.68.

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

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MZTI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Marzetti currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.67.

About Marzetti

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.