Covestor Ltd Boosts Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after acquiring an additional 85,658 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Lancaster Colony by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 21.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 6,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 22.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 1st quarter valued at $315,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of LANC traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $187.26. The company had a trading volume of 28,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,630. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.73. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46 and a beta of 0.37. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $158.88 and a 1-year high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $471.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 74.69%.

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.