Laurion Capital Management LP Cuts Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Laurion Capital Management LP cut its position in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 369 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 125.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,803,000 after purchasing an additional 24,589 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 61,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,873,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of LANC stock opened at $166.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $179.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.50. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63.

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

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LANC. DA Davidson increased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Benchmark raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com lowered Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.