Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,675 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LANC. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in 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. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,766,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 5,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price 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 upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 3.2 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $189.03 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $183.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.48. The stock has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22 and a beta of 0.38. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $163.20 and a 52 week high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $509.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.