Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 548 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Captrust Financial Advisors lowered its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 548 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $74,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth about $113,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 10.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olympiad Research LP acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ LANC opened at $198.10 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $161.54 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.80 and a 200-day moving average of $184.14. The company has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd.

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.