Ninety One UK Ltd Buys 179,305 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 33.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 712,316 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,305 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $47,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 108.7% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Lamb Weston in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $59.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.72. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.23 and its 200 day moving average is $67.78. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $52.99 and a one year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 2.50%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Activity

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