JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 62.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,162 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,583 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.36% of Lancaster Colony worth $17,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LANC. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.33.

Insider Activity

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LANC traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $182.46. The company had a trading volume of 89,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,801. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $202.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $184.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. 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.