William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 134,118 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 838,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 134,118 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 3.04% of Lancaster Colony worth $145,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 4,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $180.02 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $181.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $209.08.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Insider Activity

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

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.