Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 556,223 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,864 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.02% of Lancaster Colony worth $98,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,204,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth $2,244,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at $685,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 146,275.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,855 shares of the company's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Lancaster Colony stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $182.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 116,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,730. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $184.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $161.54 and a 52-week high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business'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 business earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 65.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LANC shares. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

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.