CIBC Asset Management Inc Purchases 851 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 9.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,221,665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $402,791,000 after purchasing an additional 549,812 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,388,056 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $218,598,000 after buying an additional 24,097 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lamb Weston by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,107,929 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,207,000 after buying an additional 1,618,570 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $129,480,000. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 31.6% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,951,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $126,309,000 after acquiring an additional 468,190 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of LW opened at $55.76 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.99 and a 52 week high of $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This trade represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Lamb Weston

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.