Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 90.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,857 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LANC. Stephens raised their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson raised 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. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $183.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $181.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.78%.

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.