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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction of $3,250,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,447,386.36. The trade was a 23.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Lancaster Colony Trading Up 0.8 %

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $190.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.91. Lancaster Colony Co. has a twelve month low of $163.20 and a twelve month high of $209.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40 and a beta of 0.35.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $509.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $495.43 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 2.00%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lancaster Colony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. 66.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.