Atria Investments Inc Acquires 98 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,060 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after buying an additional 752 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 85,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LANC. Loop Capital cut their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $180.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.15 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $180.97 and a 200-day moving average of $184.90. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $161.54 and a one year high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

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.