Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys 594 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,024 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at $8,558,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at $650,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 158,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,366,000 after acquiring an additional 13,822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

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

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $192.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $180.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $163.20 and a 1-year high of $209.08.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

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.