Marshall Wace LLP Trims Stock Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Marshall Wace LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 63.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 468,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 809,525 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.34% of Lamb Weston worth $24,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Lamb Weston by 64.2% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 537 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 28.7% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 14.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,138 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 49,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 40.1% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,195 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $59.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.43 and a 200-day moving average of $56.93. Lamb Weston has a 52-week low of $47.87 and a 52-week high of $83.98.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 28.08% and a net margin of 4.56%.The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 70.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $65.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lamb Weston from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.70.

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.