Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. 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 note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction 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. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $53.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $107.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.14.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. 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.