Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,411 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,932 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.14% of Lancaster Colony worth $6,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

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Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC traded down $1.06 on Thursday, reaching $180.20. 70,699 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 137,617. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $183.71 and its 200-day moving average is $181.11. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $163.20 and a twelve month high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LANC. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Stephens boosted their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.33.

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.