Cerity Partners LLC Has $3.99 Million Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,573 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,988 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Lancaster Colony worth $3,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter worth about $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LANC shares. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $202.67.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.1 %

LANC traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $185.84. 79,092 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,099. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.15 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $182.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.33. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $161.54 and a 1 year high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company 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%. Lancaster Colony's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

Lancaster Colony 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.