Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by Barings LLC

Barings LLC reduced its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,248 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 6,259 shares during the period. Barings LLC's holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 157.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 72,568 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44,372 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter worth about $436,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 165,953 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE LW traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 819,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,690,766. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.28 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50. The company has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $58.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.83.

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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 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on LW. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.