Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,433 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $9,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Olympiad Research LP acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the third quarter worth about $210,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Solidarity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 4.9% during the third quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 30,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,413,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LANC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens lowered their price target on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $180.04 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $161.54 and a fifty-two week high of $215.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.28%.

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.