Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Acquires New Shares in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA acquired a new position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 15,538 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 34,461 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,725,000 after acquiring an additional 7,028 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at $93,553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE LW traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.61. 2,804,062 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,478,230. The business's 50-day moving average is $63.96 and its 200-day moving average is $80.13. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.99 and a twelve month high of $111.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.75.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by ($0.46). Lamb Weston had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 44.06%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is currently 19.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at $9,610,287.11. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LW. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen downgraded Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $61.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Consumer Edge downgraded Lamb Weston from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.20.

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.