Lamb Weston $LW Shares Sold by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. reduced its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 41,850 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 16,150 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LW. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 380.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 47.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $44.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.47 and a 200 day moving average of $44.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. Lamb Weston has a one year low of $37.62 and a one year high of $67.07.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 71.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 136,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.89 per share, with a total value of $5,561,040.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This represents a 2.71% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Company 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.