Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LANC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Stephens raised their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $175.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.12 and its 200-day moving average is $181.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.78%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.