Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Lowers Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 64.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,849 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,970 shares during the quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 243.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock worth $52,853,000 after buying an additional 52,030 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company's stock worth $17,342,000 after acquiring an additional 38,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock worth $380,908,000 after acquiring an additional 30,987 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens increased their target price 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 raised Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

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 shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $179.65. The company had a trading volume of 78,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 161,534. The company's 50-day moving average is $183.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.11. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57 and a beta of 0.38. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

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.