California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,612 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,411 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.36% of Lancaster Colony worth $17,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth $630,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,177 shares of the company's stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 213,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,027,000 after purchasing an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $318,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Lancaster Colony Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded up $7.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $181.26. The company had a trading volume of 292,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,871. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $163.20 and a 12-month high of $202.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.11.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.33.

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.