First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 445 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,337 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 16.9% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 20,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,937,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 26.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 8.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $166.74 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $163.20 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.84. The company has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85 and a beta of 0.36.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $468.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

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.