Nicholas Company Inc. Sells 15,616 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Nicholas Company Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 166,847 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 15,616 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. owned about 0.12% of Lamb Weston worth $11,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,480,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,883,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,382,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after buying an additional 549,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LW shares. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.73.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $50.98 on Friday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $107.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 a boost 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 payout ratio is currently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, 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. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.