Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $8.97 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 78.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,194 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Lamb Weston worth $8,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LW. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 88,020 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,882,000 after acquiring an additional 40,309 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 87,682 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,860,000 after purchasing an additional 11,553 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,921,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,736,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,648,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE LW opened at $53.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $55.85 and its 200 day moving average is $65.90. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LW. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

Insider Activity

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.