Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 53,270 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 89.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,277,000 after purchasing an additional 49,734 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,558,000. Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 366.6% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,699,000 after purchasing an additional 39,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,342,000 after purchasing 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

LANC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lowered their price target on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

NASDAQ LANC opened at $172.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.01. Lancaster Colony Corporation has a 12 month low of $156.14 and a 12 month high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its 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). Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 8.99%. The company had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Corporation will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

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

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.