Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 1,157 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,278 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LANC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,875,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 520,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,326,000 after purchasing an additional 25,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LANC. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $171.10 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $180.19 and its 200 day moving average is $181.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60 and a beta of 0.36. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 65.74%.

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.