Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 813 Shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 813 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Lancaster Colony worth $6,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 80.4% in the fourth 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 932 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ LANC opened at $175.33 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $163.20 and a 12 month high of $209.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $182.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.28.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.78%.

Insider Activity at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.33.

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.