1,836 Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 77,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,396,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth $8,558,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 29.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $183.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $181.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.26.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $509.30 million for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 66.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.