Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 125 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,230 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,913,000 after acquiring an additional 85,658 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth about $7,997,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,534,000 after buying an additional 22,926 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,735,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,803,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.0 %

LANC stock opened at $179.99 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $160.01 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $183.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.44.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $452.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LANC. StockNews.com downgraded Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Stephens decreased 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 research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.75.

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.