ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC Sells 25,000 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC decreased its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $3,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 958.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,081,000 after purchasing an additional 15,799 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 883.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth about $305,000. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 13,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 70.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 26,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,691,000 after acquiring an additional 11,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LANC. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.67.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $187.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $161.54 and a 12 month high of $215.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.20 and a 200-day moving average of $184.16.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

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.