KBC Group NV Buys 398 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 80.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 893 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 556,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,227,000 after purchasing an additional 14,864 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4,189.1% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 163,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,922,000 after acquiring an additional 159,981 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.0% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 111,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,929,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 243.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 83,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,767,000 after acquiring an additional 59,261 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LANC. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $187.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.55 and a 200-day moving average of $180.87. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $209.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony 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.