Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,133 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,965 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.05% of Lancaster Colony worth $50,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,978 shares of the company's stock worth $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $166.60. 228,831 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,249. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $156.14 and a 52-week high of $202.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $483.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LANC shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens reduced their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has an average rating of "Hold" 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.