Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stock Position Decreased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 838,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 134,118 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $145,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $180.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $181.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.17. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LANC. DA Davidson boosted their price target 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. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

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.