Cerity Partners LLC Has $4.45 Million Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,397 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,824 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.09% of Lancaster Colony worth $4,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 11,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

LANC stock opened at $183.76 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $163.20 and a fifty-two week high of $202.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.17. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30 and a beta of 0.38.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its 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. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.43 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LANC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

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.