Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE reduced its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,352 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,352 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Lancaster Colony Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ LANC opened at $174.79 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $207.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $182.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LANC. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment 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, 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 other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.