Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,832 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during 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 in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the fourth 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. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson boosted 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. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $190.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 133,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,299. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.92 and a 200 day moving average of $181.52. 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 issued 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. The business had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. 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.