BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 12,889 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 48.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,681 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,889 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock worth $97,308,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company's stock worth $88,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,853,000 after buying an additional 52,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 290,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,234,000 after acquiring an additional 28,965 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research 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 an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC traded down $2.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.81. 53,851 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 146,660. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 0.50. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $156.14 and a 12-month high of $202.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.69.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.79%.

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.