Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Purchased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,678 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 35,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,802,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,932,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 2,050.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $50.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.47. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $107.50.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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 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 2.90%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.