Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Position Increased by Man Group plc

Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 366.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,241 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,474 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.18% of Lancaster Colony worth $8,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $169.49 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $176.93 and a 200-day moving average of $180.87. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63.

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 company 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens dropped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.50.

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.

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