F M Investments LLC Sells 26,089 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

F M Investments LLC lowered its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 61.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,127 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,089 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Lancaster Colony worth $2,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC traded down $0.80 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.96. 39,750 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 137,603. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $163.20 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The business's 50-day moving average price is $184.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.33 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business 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 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.33.

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.