Jennison Associates LLC Sells 12,483 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,483 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 128,377 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,875 shares during the last quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 52,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW opened at $59.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.71. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $107.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Lamb Weston

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.