Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $597,000 Investment in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the 4th 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 period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LANC. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report 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, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.23. 20,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,649. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $184.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.26. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $163.20 and a 12-month high of $202.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.