California Public Employees Retirement System Lowers Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 98,612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,411 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $17,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stephens boosted their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $179.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.03 and a 200 day moving average of $181.22. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $206.05.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

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.