Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LANC. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,139,000 after acquiring an additional 112,696 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,388,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 105,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,403,000 after acquiring an additional 36,671 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 43,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,215,000 after acquiring an additional 11,208 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $555,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens cut Lancaster Colony from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $185.40 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.81. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $220.65.

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

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

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.