Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Stock Price Down 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI)’s stock price dropped 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $114.79 and last traded at $117.4880. Approximately 59,021 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 255,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MZTI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Marzetti from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Marzetti has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.00.

Marzetti Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.76.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $509.77 million for the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The business’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Marzetti’s payout ratio is currently 61.26%.

Institutional Trading of Marzetti

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Marzetti by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% 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.