Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 950 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 235.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,353 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,443,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,271,000 after buying an additional 410,104 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,559,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,187,000 after buying an additional 147,890 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,307,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,795,000 after buying an additional 145,560 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 76.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 269,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,089,000 after buying an additional 116,274 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 319,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,139,000 after buying an additional 112,696 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.8 %

LANC opened at $186.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.86. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $220.65. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 76.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $218.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

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.