Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,987 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.98% of Lancaster Colony worth $380,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during 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. boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of 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, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded down $4.38 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $175.42. The company had a trading volume of 253,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,626. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $205.41. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.21.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

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.