Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Lowers Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,182 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,959 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Lancaster Colony by 2,386.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 172,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,517,000 after purchasing an additional 165,155 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 4,189.1% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 163,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,922,000 after purchasing an additional 159,981 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after acquiring an additional 85,658 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,997,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,055.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after acquiring an additional 32,966 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In other Lancaster Colony news, Director Elliot K. Fullen purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 29.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $182.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.70. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52 week low of $161.54 and a 52 week high of $215.31. The company has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $466.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.49% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LANC shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

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.