Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys 100 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter valued at about $255,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $294,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,853,000 after acquiring an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $630,000. Finally, Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $963,000. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $188.63 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $209.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $178.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.91.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LANC. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

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.