Blair William & Co. IL Boosts Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 2,386.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,075 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 165,155 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $32,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 11.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 3,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 306,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,840,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 520,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,326,000 after purchasing an additional 25,072 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,875,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on LANC. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Stephens cut their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $179.29 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $160.01 and a 12 month high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $452.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $462.70 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.69%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.