Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 86,842 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 400,773 shares of the company's stock after selling 86,842 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 1.45% of Lancaster Colony worth $70,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LANC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 22.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company's stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 21.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,765 shares of the company's stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 12.2% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,920 shares of the company's stock worth $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company's stock worth $453,913,000 after purchasing an additional 85,658 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 27.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 551 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $180.04. 117,747 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,069. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $180.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.90. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $161.54 and a 52 week high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 62.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $895,362. This represents 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 available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

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.