Milestone Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 893 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LANC shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

LANC stock opened at $169.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 0.36. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $215.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.34.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $466.56 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.74%.

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.