State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $1.94 Million Stock Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 25.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,581 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,528,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the first quarter valued at $864,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the first quarter valued at $868,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the 1st quarter worth about $862,000. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 51,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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. 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.75.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $895,362. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.4 %

LANC stock opened at $181.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.72.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.06). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $452.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $462.70 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 74.69%.

Lancaster Colony Company 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.