Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,235 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LANC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. 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. Stephens dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a 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, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 2.5%

Lancaster Colony stock traded up $4.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $168.07. 143,734 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 148,001. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $174.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.64. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 61.79%.

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.