Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Raises Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,538 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $98,227,000 after buying an additional 14,864 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,853,000 after acquiring an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position 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 worth $37,027,000 after purchasing an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $27,366,000 after purchasing an additional 13,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This represents a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 29.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LANC. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

LANC stock opened at $175.33 on Monday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $163.20 and a 12 month high of $209.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.39.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

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

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.