4,000 Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 7,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 1,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. FreeGulliver LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $175.20 on Wednesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $206.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced 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 net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock 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 research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

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.