J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Grows Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,979 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,132 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 29.5% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,244,000. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2.0% during the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 8.1% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony in the third quarter worth approximately $344,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, with a total value of $507,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This trade represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stephens lowered their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $196.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $180.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.95. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $161.54 and a 1 year high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.28%.

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.