Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,786 Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $829,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LANC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,908,000 after buying an additional 30,987 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,308,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 450,493 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,998,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock worth $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens lowered their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Benchmark upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.69. 132,290 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,593. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47 and a beta of 0.50. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $156.14 and a 52 week high of $202.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.10.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors 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 yield of 2.27%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.79%.

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.