Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 58,066 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,646,887 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,066 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Lamb Weston worth $1,112,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 167,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,211,000 after buying an additional 34,827 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $6,823,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 116,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 10,855 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 51,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 12,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 224,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,972,000 after purchasing an additional 26,965 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $53.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $105.55. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.73 and its 200 day moving average is $65.83.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup downgraded 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.55.

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.