Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Sells 13,970 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 64.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,970 shares during the quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $179.80 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $206.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.22.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens increased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.