Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,469 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,004 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.06% of Lancaster Colony worth $3,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark raised Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $161.05. The stock had a trading volume of 151,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,486. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.94.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.12). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

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.