Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 118,162 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 642,508 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 118,162 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.45% of Lamb Weston worth $42,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LW. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth about $423,270,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,736,000. JANA Partners Management LP increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 7,131,339 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $476,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,585 shares in the last quarter. Continental Grain Co. acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth $63,786,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $232,330,000 after purchasing an additional 735,901 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on LW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.64.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW opened at $51.27 on Tuesday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $89.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.03 and a 200-day moving average of $63.12.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's payout ratio is 58.04%.

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.

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