NewEdge Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 6,371.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,977 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased 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 worth $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 38,583 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $380,908,000 after buying an additional 30,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 125.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of LANC traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $161.11. The company had a trading volume of 78,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,065. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $156.14 and a 52-week high of $202.63. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $182.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.81.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.79%.

Lancaster Colony 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.