Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) CEO David Alan Ciesinski Sells 17,000 Shares

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

LANC stock opened at $192.20 on Thursday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 1 year low of $163.20 and a 1 year high of $209.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $178.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.98.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. Lancaster Colony had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.51%. The company had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s payout ratio is currently 66.78%.

Institutional Trading of Lancaster Colony

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1,078.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Lancaster Colony by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 66.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LANC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.33.

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.