Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Shares Sold by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 542,305 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,461 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 1.97% of Lancaster Colony worth $95,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LANC. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 2,386.6% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 172,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,517,000 after purchasing an additional 165,155 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 4,189.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 163,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,922,000 after buying an additional 159,981 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,186,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,913,000 after buying an additional 85,658 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Lancaster Colony during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,997,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1,055.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 36,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,820,000 after acquiring an additional 32,966 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elliot K. Fullen acquired 3,000 shares of Lancaster Colony stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $169.00 per share, for a total transaction of $507,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $895,362. This represents a 130.55 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 29.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LANC shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $196.00 price target on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Lancaster Colony from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.50.

Lancaster Colony Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of LANC opened at $186.38 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a 52-week low of $161.54 and a 52-week high of $215.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $466.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $468.36 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 8.49%. Lancaster Colony’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This is a boost from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.28%.

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.