Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 26,088 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,480 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 26,088 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $218,598,000 after buying an additional 24,097 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 31.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW traded down $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,981,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,376,088. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $107.50. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $67.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.78.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for 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 company's revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company'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 purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

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.