Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Bought by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,932 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LANC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $194.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $178.13 and its 200-day moving average is $181.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $209.81.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $509.30 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 66.78%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

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.