Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lowered its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,520 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $1,881,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Lamb Weston by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $477,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 15,055 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Lamb Weston by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 41,432 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $80.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.41 and a 1-year high of $117.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.98.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

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.