1,900 Shares in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Purchased by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,853,000 after purchasing an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,277,000 after acquiring an additional 49,734 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,342,000 after acquiring an additional 38,583 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,908,000 after acquiring an additional 30,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $167.37 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.78. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $156.14 and a twelve month high of $202.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41 and a beta of 0.50.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Lancaster Colony’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LANC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.50.

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.