Boston Trust Walden Corp Grows Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 54.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,366 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 112,696 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 1.16% of Lancaster Colony worth $53,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 17,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,555,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.7% in the first quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.6% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.2% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $905,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 3.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total value of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 29.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens downgraded Lancaster Colony from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:LANC traded down $0.34 on Friday, reaching $204.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 92,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,658. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $158.88 and a 12-month high of $220.65. The firm has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $199.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.17.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 6.92%. The company had revenue of $485.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. Equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Lancaster Colony's payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

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.