Strs Ohio Sells 5,300 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Strs Ohio trimmed its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 74.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 141.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position 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 increased its position in 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 buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens cut Lancaster Colony from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $190.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $158.88 and a twelve month high of $220.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.34 and a 200 day moving average of $181.96.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

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.