Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Makes New Investment in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 14,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned about 0.05% of Lancaster Colony as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings 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 worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 141.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lancaster Colony news, insider Kristin Bird sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.66, for a total transaction of $232,540.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,546 shares in the company, valued at $683,172.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 29.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LANC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $218.00 price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lancaster Colony presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

Lancaster Colony Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of LANC opened at $191.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73 and a beta of 0.39. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 12-month low of $158.88 and a 12-month high of $220.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $199.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.34.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $471.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.90 million. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 7.10% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Lancaster Colony’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 6th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.69%.

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.