Boston Trust Walden Corp Decreases Position in Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC)

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,326 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,938 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 1.09% of Lancaster Colony worth $52,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock worth $380,908,000 after buying an additional 30,987 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 290,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,234,000 after purchasing an additional 28,965 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of LANC stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.98. 342,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,932. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $171.83 and a 200 day moving average of $177.52. Lancaster Colony Corporation has a 52-week low of $156.14 and a 52-week high of $202.63. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.48 and a beta of 0.47.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 8.99%. The firm had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Corporation will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is currently 61.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

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.