LPL Financial LLC Acquires 10,243 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 182.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,872 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,243 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Lancaster Colony worth $2,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:LANC traded down $2.22 on Tuesday, hitting $184.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,318. 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 $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $184.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.24.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 66.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LANC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target 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. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.