California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 108,041 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $17,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 141.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony during the third quarter worth $205,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 48.8% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lancaster Colony

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $190.35 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $199.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.96. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $220.65. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.67 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. 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 1.89%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

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.