Strs Ohio Has $299,000 Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Strs Ohio trimmed its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 74.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,300 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,366 shares of the company's stock worth $53,139,000 after purchasing an additional 112,696 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth about $1,388,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 53.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 105,454 shares of the company's stock worth $17,403,000 after buying an additional 36,671 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 34.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 43,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,215,000 after buying an additional 11,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $555,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens downgraded Lancaster Colony from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $198.75.

Insider Activity

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

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

LANC traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.81. 165,796 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,519. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $220.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 40.67 and a beta of 0.35. The business's 50-day moving average price is $199.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.96.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $489.00 million. As a group, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.