Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Buys 87 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,179 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned 0.06% of Lancaster Colony worth $2,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,769 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 45,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 38,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,334,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,803,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,534,000 after acquiring an additional 22,926 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $181.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.90 and its 200-day moving average is $189.72. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $160.01 and a 52 week high of $215.31. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 74.69%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LANC shares. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony 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.