Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the first quarter valued at about $50,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lancaster Colony news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total value of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stephens lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $218.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.2 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $196.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $200.12 and a 200-day moving average of $180.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.90 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $220.65.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.00 million. Research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

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.