Boston Partners Has $232.33 Million Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 735,901 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 2.44% of Lamb Weston worth $232,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $402,791,000 after acquiring an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $218,598,000 after acquiring an additional 24,097 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $129,480,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $126,309,000 after acquiring an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,883,000. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW stock opened at $52.88 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.39. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. 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 posted 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 business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is currently 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.