Cypress Capital Management LLC WY Lowers Stock Holdings in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Cypress Capital Management LLC WY lowered its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. Lancaster Colony comprises about 1.6% of Cypress Capital Management LLC WY’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 1.2% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 25,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 29.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Lancaster Colony stock traded up $3.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $190.06. 55,052 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,954. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $220.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $199.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.81.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 6.92%. The firm had revenue of $485.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.00 million. Analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

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.