Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,200,002 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,987 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 7.98% of Lancaster Colony worth $380,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 243.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 83,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,767,000 after buying an additional 59,261 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,853,000 after acquiring an additional 52,030 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth about $8,558,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 125.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,803,000 after purchasing an additional 24,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 336.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 18,030 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LANC. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on 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, DA Davidson raised their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction 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 $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $173.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $163.20 and a 12 month high of $206.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.26.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

About Lancaster Colony

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.