Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stock Position Cut by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,390 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $60,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 15,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,766,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LANC opened at $166.93 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12 month low of $156.14 and a 12 month high of $202.63. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $177.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.94.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The firm had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.

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.