Lancaster Colony Corporation (LANC) will raise its quarterly dividend by 10.0 percent to $0.55 per share in the fourth quarter of 2016. The dividend will be payable December 30, 2016 to shareholders of record on December 9, 2016. 

John B. Gerlach, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lancaster Colony, said, "The increased regular cash dividend reflects the company's continued strong financial position and will be the 214th consecutive regular quarterly cash dividend paid by the company since September 1963." He noted that the indicated annual payout for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2017 is $2.15 per share, up from the $1.96 per share paid in fiscal 2016, excluding the special dividend of $5.00 per share paid in December 2015.

Today’s dividend increase indicates an annualized rate of $2.20 per common share and a yield of approximately 1.6% based on the $138.26 current stock price.

Lancaster Colony Corporation is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice markets. Lancaster Colony is the parent of the T. Marzetti Company. The company's brands include Marzetti (salad dressings and dips), New York Brand (frozen garlic breads and croutons), Sister Schubert’s (homemade rolls) and Flatout (flatbread wraps). Lancaster Colony went public in 1969, the same year the company entered the specialty foods business with the purchase of the T. Marzetti Company. The company has paid consecutive quarterly dividends since 1963.