London Co. of Virginia Boosts Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

London Co. of Virginia lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 450,493 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia owned approximately 1.63% of Lancaster Colony worth $77,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 89.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company's stock worth $18,277,000 after buying an additional 49,734 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at $8,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company's stock worth $17,342,000 after acquiring an additional 38,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock worth $380,908,000 after acquiring an additional 30,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.9%

LANC stock traded up $1.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $166.93. The company had a trading volume of 184,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 146,323. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.50. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.