Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $129,480,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,883,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $126,309,000 after purchasing an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 697.4% in the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 350,268 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $23,408,000 after purchasing an additional 306,343 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of LW opened at $53.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. Lamb Weston’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc produces, distributes, and markets frozen potato products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Global, Foodservice, Retail, and Other. It offers frozen potatoes, commercial ingredients, and appetizers under the Lamb Weston brand, as well as under various customer labels.