Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,337,763 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,262 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.94% of Lamb Weston worth $89,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,646,887 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,112,511,000 after purchasing an additional 58,066 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $232,330,000 after purchasing an additional 735,901 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,436,604 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $229,065,000 after buying an additional 48,548 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,736,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on LW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.09.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE LW traded down $1.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $53.55. 579,289 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,714,745. 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 fifty day moving average price of $54.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.18. The company has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $89.51.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.04%.

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.