Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Acquires 4,701 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $6,474,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 61,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,140,000 after buying an additional 16,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 39.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $10,115,000 after buying an additional 44,057 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:LW traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.93. 703,844 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,203,994. The firm has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.99 and a twelve month high of $107.50. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $62.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.40.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston 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.