Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 49,430 Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 49,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,558,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.18% of Lancaster Colony as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the 4th 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. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth approximately $220,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LANC. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.6 %

LANC stock traded down $1.07 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.66. 117,860 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,926. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $209.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.37.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 66.78%.

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.