George F. Knight III Buys 75 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stock

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Director George F. Knight III purchased 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $206.51 per share, for a total transaction of $15,488.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,012.70. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $190.88 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $187.40 and its 200 day moving average is $192.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 39.60 and a beta of 0.37. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $215.31.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 74.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LANC has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 target price on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,185,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 135,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,517,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 20,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,937,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 146,275.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 5,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

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.