Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) Stake Lowered by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,195 shares of the company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,559,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,187,000 after acquiring an additional 147,890 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,443,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,271,000 after purchasing an additional 410,104 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,079,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,711 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,162,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,930,000 after purchasing an additional 414,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 539,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,495,000 after purchasing an additional 5,860 shares during the last quarter. 60.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LANC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Lancaster Colony from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $237.00 to $226.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lancaster Colony in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Lancaster Colony stock opened at $167.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.31 and a beta of 0.29. Lancaster Colony Co. has a fifty-two week low of $158.88 and a fifty-two week high of $220.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.31.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $454.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.13 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 16.02% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Lancaster Colony Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. This is a positive change from Lancaster Colony’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.81%.

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.