72,543 Shares in The Marzetti Company $MZTI Acquired by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 72,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,928,000. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.26% of Marzetti at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Marzetti Stock Performance

Shares of MZTI opened at $111.94 on Friday. The Marzetti Company has a 52-week low of $110.31 and a 52-week high of $190.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.67 and its 200-day moving average is $151.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 0.38.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 3.6%. Marzetti’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MZTI shares. Stephens dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Marzetti from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Marzetti currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.33.

Marzetti 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.