Farringdon Capital Ltd. Buys Shares of 1,367 Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,367 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth approximately $630,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,177 shares of the company's stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 213,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,027,000 after buying an additional 9,861 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,518,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth $318,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of LANC traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $189.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 138,396. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $183.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

About Lancaster Colony

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.