Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,162 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,583 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.36% of Lancaster Colony worth $17,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $185.97. The stock had a trading volume of 51,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,765. The business's fifty day moving average price is $183.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.28. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $202.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.