Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,433 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Lancaster Colony worth $9,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 19,025.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 53,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,371,000 after purchasing an additional 53,270 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 89.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,277,000 after buying an additional 49,734 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,558,000. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 366.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,699,000 after buying an additional 39,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,342,000 after buying an additional 38,583 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on LANC shares. Benchmark upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $172.77 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.04. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.47. Lancaster Colony Corporation has a 52 week low of $156.14 and a 52 week high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted 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 during 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 was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Corporation will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.