Diversified Trust Co Acquires 1,050 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 86,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,356,000 after acquiring an additional 36,291 shares during the period. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the first quarter valued at about $862,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth about $2,445,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,139,000 after buying an additional 112,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,388,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $188.57 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $215.31. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.36.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $471.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.10%. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LANC. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $218.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.75.

About Lancaster Colony

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.