Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 5,700 Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 141.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total value of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ LANC opened at $187.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.17 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $158.88 and a one year high of $220.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $199.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.59.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were given a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

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.