Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 14,500 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 156,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,457,000 after purchasing an additional 45,904 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,647,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,641,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.2 %

LW stock opened at $51.86 on Thursday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.93 and a 1-year high of $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.42.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its 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 firm 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 firm’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased 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 $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.