Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. cut its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 188,858 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,072 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.69% of Lancaster Colony worth $32,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 lifted 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 buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony 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 owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:LANC traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $192.24. The stock had a trading volume of 26,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,124. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.68. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $163.20 and a 12-month high of $202.63.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

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.