Swiss National Bank Sells 300 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $6,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the third quarter worth approximately $2,244,000. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter valued at $344,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 14.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LANC shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $185.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $161.54 and a fifty-two week high of $215.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $181.62 and a 200 day moving average of $184.45.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 65.74%.

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.