Boston Partners Increases Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Boston Partners raised its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 735,901 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 2.44% of Lamb Weston worth $232,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 935,914 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $62,606,000 after purchasing an additional 15,840 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 55,955 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares in the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 49,511 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 323.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 55,940 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,738,000 after acquiring an additional 42,740 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. 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. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $76.73.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents 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 owned by insiders.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LW stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.16. 4,602,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,742,398. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston's revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

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.