Parallel Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Parallel Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at about $317,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 4,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LANC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $175.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $209.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $182.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $509.30 million for 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

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.