Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Purchases 3,470 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,593 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Lancaster Colony worth $4,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on LANC shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens increased their price target on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $190.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $183.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.90. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $163.20 and a 1-year high of $202.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.