Ninety One UK Ltd Acquires 179,305 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 33.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 712,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 179,305 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.50% of Lamb Weston worth $47,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 128,377 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,579,000 after acquiring an additional 3,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Diamond Partners LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 3,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought 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 $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt acquired 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LW shares. Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. 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 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $59.14 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $67.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.78. The company has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.99 and a 12 month high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

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.