New York State Teachers Retirement System Invests $3.34 Million in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 20,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,342,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MZTI. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $2,084,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth about $3,889,000. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,524,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $645,000. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,161,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Stephens dropped their target price on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.33.

Marzetti Stock Performance

MZTI stock opened at $116.96 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a one year low of $111.04 and a one year high of $190.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.73.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($0.08). Marzetti had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 9.06%.The firm had revenue of $509.77 million during the quarter. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.60%.

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.