Bank of America Corp DE Sells 8,171 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,391 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,171 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.38% of Lancaster Colony worth $17,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 125.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,803,000 after buying an additional 24,589 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 336.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,050,000 after buying an additional 18,030 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Financial Management LLC now owns 23,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,121,000 after buying an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of LANC stock traded up $1.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.00. 156,567 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 147,786. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $175.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.21. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $156.14 and a 1-year high of $202.63. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LANC. Wall Street Zen lowered Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stephens cut their price target 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. Finally, 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, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.50.

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.