Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $948,000 in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LANC. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 141.0% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new position in Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth $205,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 235.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 48.8% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the 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 owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.4 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $187.98 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $199.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.17 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.92%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.