6,615 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter valued at $26,736,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth $40,196,000. F m Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth $2,417,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth $4,014,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $43,355,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MZTI shares. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.

Marzetti Price Performance

NASDAQ MZTI opened at $107.06 on Monday. The Marzetti Company has a 12 month low of $104.58 and a 12 month high of $190.96. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $118.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.34.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of Marzetti 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,312.44. This trade represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

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.