Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 303 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC – Get Rating) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,073 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $15,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 638.2% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 95.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of LANC stock opened at $206.62 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.21. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $116.85 and a twelve month high of $220.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.41 and a beta of 0.22.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.11). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 7.21%. The business had revenue of $464.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $443.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 8th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 71.43%.

Lancaster Colony Profile

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Lancaster Colony Corp. engages in the manufacture and sale of specialty food products. It operates through the following segments: Retail and Foodservice. The Retail and Foodservice segments both focus on the manufacture and sale of frozen breads, refrigerated dressings, dips and shelf-stable dressings, and croutons under the brand names New York BRAND Bakery, Sister Schubert’s, Marzetti Frozen Pasta, and Flatout.