State of Michigan Retirement System Acquires 100 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,932 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 39,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,852 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,368,000 after purchasing an additional 6,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ LANC opened at $204.17 on Monday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $158.88 and a 12 month high of $220.65. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $199.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.28.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $485.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $489.00 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

About Lancaster Colony

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.