Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) CEO Sells $3,250,230.00 in Stock

Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total value of $3,250,230.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

Shares of LANC opened at $191.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $178.17 and a 200-day moving average of $181.05. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 0.35. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $163.20 and a one year high of $209.81.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.28. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.98%. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lancaster Colony

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth approximately $630,000. Anthracite Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,204,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,244,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Lancaster Colony by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lancaster Colony during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.