Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Position Cut by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 84.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,909 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 26,298 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LW. City State Bank increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 143.8% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $60.62 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.43 and a 200-day moving average of $68.71.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

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.