Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 31.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 29,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,089 shares during the period. Solidarity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 30,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,413,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $190.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $178.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.03. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $209.81.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released 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. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LANC. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 29.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lancaster Colony Company 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.