DAVENPORT & Co LLC Has $1.49 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,243 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,034 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LW. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $218,598,000 after acquiring an additional 24,097 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at approximately $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 31.6% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $126,309,000 after acquiring an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business's 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:LW traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $58.86. 1,152,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,150,426. The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.17 and a 200 day moving average of $67.52. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 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 has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

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.