HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,321 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 132 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth $253,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 192,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,252,000 after buying an additional 5,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,342,000 after buying an additional 38,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.9 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $175.07 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $163.20 and a 52 week high of $206.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

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.