Brandes Investment Partners LP Boosts Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,099 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 45,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,069 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 92,700.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth approximately $561,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $176.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $183.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.75. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $160.01 and a 1-year high of $215.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 29.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.