Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 510,470 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.85% of Lancaster Colony worth $88,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at about $630,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 213,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,027,000 after acquiring an additional 9,861 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company's stock worth $49,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth approximately $318,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LANC. DA Davidson upped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens upped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.3 %

LANC opened at $189.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.34 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $163.20 and a 52 week high of $202.63. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $183.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.00.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

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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