Stifel Financial Corp Grows Stock Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,908 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Lancaster Colony worth $2,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in 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 increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock worth $97,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company's stock worth $88,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company's stock worth $49,518,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LANC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark raised 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. DA Davidson increased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.61. 170,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,777. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $180.76 and a 200 day moving average of $181.48. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05 and a beta of 0.50.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

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.