Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 500 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 117.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 2.0% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 35,050 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 532.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,020,000 after purchasing an additional 26,270 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 15.3% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $52.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.61 and a 200-day moving average of $67.48. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.96 and a 1-year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

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.