Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,015 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after buying an additional 85,658 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth $7,997,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,534,000 after purchasing an additional 22,926 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,735,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 504,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,924,000 after purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LANC. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stephens decreased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.2 %

LANC stock opened at $179.31 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.32. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $160.01 and a fifty-two week high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.06). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $452.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.70 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 74.69%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony 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.