Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 443 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,378 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LANC. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Olympiad Research LP bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony during the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the third quarter worth $362,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

LANC opened at $191.68 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $209.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 66.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

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.