Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Moody Aldrich Partners LLC

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC decreased its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC owned about 0.11% of Lancaster Colony worth $5,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 115.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 177 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the second quarter valued at $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LANC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $236.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $176.57. 10,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,061. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.56. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $160.01 and a twelve month high of $215.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lancaster Colony

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.