Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $4.24 Million Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,503 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $4,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 23,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 125,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 19,016 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 108,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,172.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 29.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock opened at $191.91 on Tuesday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $158.88 and a 12-month high of $218.96. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $198.87 and its 200-day moving average is $182.56.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.02. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 18.96% and a net margin of 7.10%. The business had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $467.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LANC. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.75.

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.