Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 26.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,178 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,096 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.08% of Lancaster Colony worth $3,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 243.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 83,630 shares of the company's stock worth $14,767,000 after purchasing an additional 59,261 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,568 shares of the company's stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $331,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,907,000 after buying an additional 2,942 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 170.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 12,199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LANC. StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Lancaster Colony stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $182.56. The stock had a trading volume of 116,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,730. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $161.54 and a 1-year high of $215.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.58 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's fifty day moving average is $184.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. Lancaster Colony's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

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

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.