Luis Viso Sells 997 Shares of Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) Stock

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) CEO Luis Viso sold 997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.81, for a total transaction of $100,507.57. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,047 shares in the company, valued at $105,548.07. The trade was a 48.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Marzetti Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $104.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.35. The Marzetti Company has a 52-week low of $100.20 and a 52-week high of $185.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 25th. The company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter. Marzetti had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $465.03 million for the quarter.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marzetti

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MZTI. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Marzetti by 11,006.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,797,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772,304 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Marzetti in the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,083,000. State Street Corp bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $111,778,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti during the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,681,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MZTI shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Marzetti in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Marzetti from $168.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Marzetti in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Marzetti currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $135.00.

Marzetti Company Profile

Marzetti is a food manufacturer and marketer known for producing salad dressings, dips, sauces, frozen breads, pasta products and other specialty foods. Its products are sold through retail grocery channels and are also supplied to restaurants, foodservice operators and other institutional customers.

The company’s portfolio includes the Marzetti, Sister Schubert’s, New York Bakery, Flatout, Reames, Cardini’s and Girard’s brands, among others. Its offerings range from refrigerated and shelf-stable dressings and dips to frozen rolls, garlic bread, flatbreads, frozen noodles and related prepared foods.

Marzetti traces its origins to a restaurant opened by Teresa Marzetti in Columbus, Ohio, in 1896.