Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Cuts Stake in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) by 24.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,070 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.14% of Marzetti worth $5,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,118,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $367,969,000. State Street Corp purchased a new position in Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth about $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,778,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,681,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson raised Marzetti to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.33.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $111.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.62. The Marzetti Company has a fifty-two week low of $104.28 and a fifty-two week high of $190.96.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is currently 62.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total transaction of $133,467.51. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at $210,312.44. This represents a 38.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 29.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.