Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stake Lessened by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 61.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,127 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,089 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Lancaster Colony worth $2,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.2 %

Lancaster Colony stock traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $184.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,318. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $163.20 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $184.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.24.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. Lancaster Colony's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.