Lamb Weston $LW Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank lowered its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 21,818 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,679,203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $698,692,000 after acquiring an additional 43,766 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,801,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $300,812,000 after acquiring an additional 63,865 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,286,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $190,869,000 after acquiring an additional 79,257 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 45,177.0% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,835,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $118,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828,983 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 46.3% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $124,872,000 after acquiring an additional 680,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:LW opened at $42.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $37.62 and a 52-week high of $67.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.05.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.03%.

Lamb Weston Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.