Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Purchased by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,952 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned 0.14% of Lamb Weston worth $13,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LW. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LW. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE LW opened at $58.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.44. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.99 and a 52-week high of $107.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.