Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $286,000 Stake in Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its position in shares of Lancaster Colony Co. (NASDAQ:LANC) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,649 shares of the company’s stock after selling 771 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Lancaster Colony were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LANC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,200,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,908,000 after acquiring an additional 30,987 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Lancaster Colony by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 510,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,383,000 after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Lancaster Colony by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 305,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,853,000 after buying an additional 52,030 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lancaster Colony by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 285,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,518,000 after buying an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lancaster Colony

In related news, CEO David Alan Ciesinski sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.19, for a total transaction 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 approximately $10,447,386.36. This trade represents a 23.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 29.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lancaster Colony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Lancaster Colony from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens decreased their target price on Lancaster Colony from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Lancaster Colony from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.50.

Lancaster Colony Price Performance

NASDAQ:LANC opened at $166.60 on Friday. Lancaster Colony Co. has a one year low of $156.14 and a one year high of $202.63. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $179.11 and a 200-day moving average of $181.22.

Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $457.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $483.47 million. Lancaster Colony had a return on equity of 19.51% and a net margin of 8.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lancaster Colony Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lancaster Colony Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lancaster Colony’s dividend payout ratio is 61.79%.

Lancaster Colony 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.