DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Acquires New Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,323 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,978 shares of the company's stock worth $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Benchmark upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted 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. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC traded up $2.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.49. 160,603 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,072. 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 $176.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.79%.

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.