AlphaQuest LLC Sells 219 Shares of The Marzetti Company $MZTI

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 30.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Marzetti were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. London Co. of Virginia raised its stake in shares of Marzetti by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 450,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,998,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Marzetti by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 290,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,234,000 after acquiring an additional 28,965 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Marzetti by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 238,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,217,000 after acquiring an additional 22,019 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Marzetti by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 200,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,153,000 after acquiring an additional 12,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Marzetti by 8.8% in 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 last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Marzetti Stock Down 0.6%

MZTI stock opened at $181.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90 and a beta of 0.43. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.54.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 21st. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $475.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $455.26 million. Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.87% and a net margin of 8.77%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Marzetti Company will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Marzetti’s payout ratio is presently 62.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MZTI. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Marzetti from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Marzetti in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Marzetti presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.00.

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.