Kimelman & Baird LLC Sells 1,333 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Kimelman & Baird LLC decreased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 56.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,014 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,333 shares during the quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 9.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $218,598,000 after buying an additional 24,097 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 108.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $126,309,000 after purchasing an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Lamb Weston Stock Up 4.8 %

NYSE:LW opened at $50.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $107.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $57.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for 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 for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

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.