KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $175.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.32. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $163.20 and a 12 month high of $206.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.78%.

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.