Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stake Lowered by Aquatic Capital Management LLC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 75.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,101 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,799 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 125.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,803,000 after buying an additional 24,589 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter valued at about $272,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 3,337 shares of the company's stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC opened at $160.61 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $182.58 and its 200-day moving average is $181.81. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $156.14 and a one year high of $202.63. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $457.84 million during 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%. Lancaster Colony's revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is 61.79%.

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.

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