Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Increases Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 158,057 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,822 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $27,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LANC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 556,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,227,000 after purchasing an additional 14,864 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,853,000 after acquiring an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 213,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,027,000 after purchasing an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.0% in the 3rd 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. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $191.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $179.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.95. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $209.81.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LANC. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.