CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Lowers Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,469 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,004 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.06% of Lancaster Colony worth $3,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 6,371.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,977 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,725 shares of the company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,117 shares of the company's stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,981 shares of the company's stock worth $9,517,000 after purchasing an additional 10,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated 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 $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LANC. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

NASDAQ:LANC traded up $3.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $192.90. The company had a trading volume of 176,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 139,150. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $163.20 and a 52 week high of $202.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.00.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 66.78%.

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.