Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) CEO Sells $3,250,230.00 in Stock

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC traded up $3.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $194.81. 143,813 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 152,162. The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24 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. The stock's 50-day moving average is $178.17 and its 200-day moving average is $181.05.

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

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Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson increased their price target 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. Finally, Stephens increased their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth approximately $630,000. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,204,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,244,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 3,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.