Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Raises Stock Position in Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) by 146.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,441 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,264 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.12% of Lancaster Colony worth $5,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,908,000 after buying an additional 30,987 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 450,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,998,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 290,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,234,000 after purchasing an additional 28,965 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $168.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.28. Lancaster Colony Corporation has a 12-month low of $156.14 and a 12-month high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Corporation will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

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

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.