State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $6,474,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 61,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,140,000 after purchasing an additional 16,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 39.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,115,000 after purchasing an additional 44,057 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % 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 Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 1.5 %

Lamb Weston stock opened at $57.34 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. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. 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 2.58%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.