Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Point72 Asset Management L.P.

Point72 Asset Management L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LANC. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,853,000 after acquiring an additional 52,030 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 89.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,277,000 after acquiring an additional 49,734 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter valued at $8,558,000. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 366.6% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,699,000 after acquiring an additional 39,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,342,000 after buying an additional 38,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LANC shares. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Performance

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock opened at $162.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.39. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $457.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.79%.

Lancaster Colony Company Profile

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.