Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 29.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,246 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,433 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Lancaster Colony worth $9,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LANC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,528,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 51,981 shares of the company's stock worth $9,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at about $658,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter valued at about $685,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. The trade was a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded down $0.97 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $179.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 44,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 130,680. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $161.54 and a 52-week high of $215.31. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $181.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.82.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 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. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.28%.

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.