Welch & Forbes LLC Has $13.47 Million Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ:LANC) by 0.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,961 shares of the company’s stock after selling 411 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $13,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,176,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 32,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,677,000 after buying an additional 19,264 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 21,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,793,000 after buying an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark raised Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LANC opened at $172.77 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $168.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09 and a beta of 0.47. Lancaster Colony Corporation has a 12-month low of $156.14 and a 12-month high of $202.63.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last posted its earnings results 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). Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Lancaster Colony’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Corporation 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, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.79%.

Lancaster Colony 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.