Prudential Financial Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 75,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 16,809 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $5,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE LW opened at $53.95 on Monday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.90 and a 12-month high of $105.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.55.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.