Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 1,421 Shares of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Benchmark upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

LANC stock opened at $172.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.47. Lancaster Colony Corporation has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Corporation will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.79%.

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.