Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Time to Sell?

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s stock price traded down 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $106.14 and last traded at $106.5150. Approximately 66,778 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 305,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MZTI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Monday, August 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Marzetti in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Marzetti Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $465.03 million for the quarter.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is presently 57.39%.

Insider Activity at Marzetti

In other news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total value of $133,467.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,312.44. This represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Marzetti by 11,006.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,797,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772,304 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $313,083,000. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $367,969,000. State Street Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $160,722,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Marzetti by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 803,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,177,000 after purchasing an additional 123,875 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is 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.