Nebula Research & Development LLC Makes New $1.46 Million Investment in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,461,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock worth $97,308,000 after acquiring an additional 5,690 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock worth $52,853,000 after acquiring an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,518,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded down $1.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $160.80. 207,161 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,697. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $156.14 and a 52-week high of $202.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $183.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.94. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.12). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LANC. Benchmark upgraded Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.50.

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.