Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $790,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,908,000 after purchasing an additional 30,987 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 290,133 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,234,000 after purchasing an additional 28,965 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LANC shares. Stephens cut 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson upped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Lancaster Colony stock traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $167.65. 170,085 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 145,755. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.24. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $156.14 and a 12 month high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $483.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.79%.

About Lancaster Colony

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.