1,464 Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Acquired by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 243.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 83,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,767,000 after acquiring an additional 59,261 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $8,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,342,000 after buying an additional 38,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,908,000 after buying an additional 30,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $175.20 on Wednesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $206.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $182.86 and a 200 day moving average of $181.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.31.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

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

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.