GW&K Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 238,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,133,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brandes Investment Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,809,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,098,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,519,000. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,935,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Marzetti during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $489,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Marzetti Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MZTI opened at $109.36 on Thursday. The Marzetti Company has a 1 year low of $105.80 and a 1 year high of $190.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $123.46 and a 200 day moving average of $148.27.

Marzetti Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Marzetti

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.