Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Sells 65,461 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Key Points

• Douglas Lane & Associates trimmed its stake in Lamb Weston by 5.1% in Q4, selling 65,461 shares and leaving it with 1,213,884 shares (about 0.87% of the company) valued at roughly $50.85 million.
• Several other institutions materially increased positions (notably SG Americas, Capital Research, Bank of America and new money from Ion Asset Management), leaving institutional ownership at 89.56%, while activist Jana Partners and multiple insiders have recently bought shares, signaling investor confidence and potential activist influence.
• Lamb Weston beat Q1 estimates (EPS $0.72 vs. $0.61; revenue $1.56B vs. $1.49B), declared a $0.38 quarterly dividend (3.7% yield), but analysts have trimmed price targets and the consensus rating remains a Hold.

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,213,884 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 65,461 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned about 0.87% of Lamb Weston worth $50,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LW. Ion Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth about $84,379,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 2,682.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 801,708 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,584,000 after acquiring an additional 772,893 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $124,872,000 after acquiring an additional 680,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 129.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,089,110 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $63,256,000 after acquiring an additional 613,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 960,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $55,859,000 after acquiring an additional 444,328 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Lamb Weston News

Here are the key news stories impacting Lamb Weston this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jana Partners purchased roughly $9.7M of LW shares, increasing its stake and signaling activist support that can bolster investor confidence and potentially influence strategic/operational decisions. Jana Partners buys Lamb Weston shares
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple insider buys: Jana Partners (as a director) added 136,000 and 100,000 shares in early April at ~\$40.89–\$41.41; director Peter Bensen also bought 5,000 shares at \$39.45. These purchases (SEC-filed) show insider conviction near current price levels, which can support the stock. SEC ownership filing
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed a Buy on LW, giving some analyst backing amid mixed coverage — a positive endorsement for momentum and institutional interest. Barclays reaffirms buy
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance updated: revenue guided to about \$6.5B–\$6.6B, roughly in line with consensus — neither a clear upside surprise nor a miss. EPS guidance in the release was unclear/missing in the bulletin, so takeaways are muted until full guidance is clarified. (Company update)
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading volume is below the stock's average, suggesting today’s move is not yet broad-based; monitor volume for confirmation of any trend. (Market data)
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts have trimmed price targets recently (JPMorgan, TD Cowen, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank) and the consensus rating leans toward Hold — a headwind for near‑term upside given reduced wall‑street expectations. MarketBeat LW overview

Lamb Weston Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:LW opened at $41.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.49. 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 fifty-two week low of $37.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.34.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. Lamb Weston's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LW has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Bank of America reduced 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 note on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter J. Bensen purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares in the company, valued at $678,697.80. The trade was a 40.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jan Eli B. Craps purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 291,000 shares of company stock valued at $12,331,790 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lamb Weston 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.

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