Farther Finance Advisors LLC Has $78,000 Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1,078.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 448 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $78,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC opened at $175.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $182.12 and a 200 day moving average of $181.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 66.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LANC. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

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.