Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Lowers Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,775 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 998 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the fourth 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. grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $53.67 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $57.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.45. The company has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $107.50.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 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.