Signaturefd LLC Decreases Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Signaturefd LLC decreased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 4,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens increased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

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

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $175.33 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $163.20 and a 12-month high of $209.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.12 and a 200 day moving average of $181.28.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

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.