Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Invests $615,000 in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $615,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 46.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,191 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $796,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,678 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.3 %

LW traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.88. 1,401,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,719,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $57.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.45. The company has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $107.50.

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Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The business's revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $76.73.

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.