1,300 Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Bought by FreeGulliver LLC

FreeGulliver LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 4,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $180.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.72 and a 200-day moving average of $181.33. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $209.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72 and a beta of 0.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its 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. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LANC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.