Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 49,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,558,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 556,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,227,000 after buying an additional 14,864 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,853,000 after buying an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,518,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 213,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,027,000 after buying an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 158,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,366,000 after buying an additional 13,822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock opened at $175.33 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LANC shares. Stephens raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

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.