Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Has $696,000 Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,021 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,244,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $220,000. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LANC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 1.5 %

LANC stock opened at $180.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.72 and a 200-day moving average of $181.33. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $163.20 and a 12-month high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.78%.

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.