William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $90.04 Million in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 547,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,041,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Marzetti by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Marzetti by 16.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,736,000 after acquiring an additional 30,731 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the first quarter worth about $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the first quarter worth about $2,310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $115.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $131.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.88. The Marzetti Company has a 52 week low of $110.31 and a 52 week high of $190.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.38.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MZTI. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.33.

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.