Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,411 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,932 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.14% of Lancaster Colony worth $6,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth approximately $630,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 213,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,027,000 after buying an additional 9,861 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,518,000 after acquiring an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth $318,000. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony 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 approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on LANC. Stephens upped their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 boosted their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

NASDAQ LANC opened at $179.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.60 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.22. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $163.20 and a 52-week high of $206.05.

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 66.78%.

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.