Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Bernzott Capital Advisors

Bernzott Capital Advisors cut its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,150 shares during the period. Lancaster Colony comprises about 3.4% of Bernzott Capital Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bernzott Capital Advisors owned about 0.14% of Lancaster Colony worth $6,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the second quarter worth $74,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 66.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $170.30 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $163.20 and a 1-year high of $215.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $181.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 65.74%.

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.