Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,682 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 11,553 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of Lamb Weston worth $5,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,702 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at $96,736,000. Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,648,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 89,960 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,012,000 after buying an additional 21,212 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on LW. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.55.

Remove Ads

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW opened at $59.50 on Friday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $89.51. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.60. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.