Entropy Technologies LP Buys Shares of 9,939 The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 9,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,634,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MZTI. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Marzetti by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 32,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,710,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Marzetti by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Marzetti by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 221,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,736,000 after buying an additional 30,731 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Marzetti in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,310,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Marzetti Price Performance

Shares of MZTI stock opened at $108.69 on Tuesday. The Marzetti Company has a one year low of $105.80 and a one year high of $190.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.33.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Marzetti

In other news, insider Luis Viso sold 1,221 shares of Marzetti stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.31, for a total transaction of $133,467.51. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,312.44. The trade was a 38.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 29.10% of the company’s stock.

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.