MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $3.69 Million Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $3,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 1,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 1.8% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.2% in the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.6% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 15,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.67.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $187.30 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.16. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1-year low of $161.54 and a 1-year high of $215.31. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is an increase from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.28%.

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.