Hsbc Holdings PLC Makes New Investment in The Marzetti Company $MZTI

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,839,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Marzetti in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,118,569,000. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in Marzetti during the 4th quarter valued at $367,969,000. State Street Corp acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth $160,722,000. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in Marzetti during the 4th quarter worth $111,778,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Marzetti in the fourth quarter worth $103,681,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MZTI. Stephens lowered their price target on Marzetti from $160.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Marzetti from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Marzetti from $184.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. One investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.33.

Marzetti Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:MZTI opened at $115.52 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.25 and a 200-day moving average of $143.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.33. The Marzetti Company has a twelve month low of $104.28 and a twelve month high of $190.96.

Marzetti Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Marzetti’s payout ratio is 62.60%.

Insider Transactions at Marzetti

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

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.