First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,120 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,413 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.96% of Lancaster Colony worth $45,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $190.63. The company had a trading volume of 24,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,560. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $202.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52 and a beta of 0.38. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $183.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.00.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LANC. DA Davidson increased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stephens increased their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.33.

About Lancaster Colony

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.