Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $3,011,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 Lifeway Foods shares at an average price of $30.11, generating $3.01 million and reducing her ownership by 16.47% to 507,207 shares.
• Lifeway’s stock recently traded at $30.86, near its 52-week high of $34.20. The company reported quarterly revenue of $63.01 million and earnings of $0.30 per share, matching analyst expectations for EPS while exceeding revenue estimates.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33; institutional investors own 36.39% of the shares.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 100,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.11, for a total value of $3,011,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 507,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,272,002.77. The trade was a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Ludmila Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 25th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 45,616 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $1,352,514.40.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 40,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total value of $1,204,800.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total value of $492,800.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Performance

LWAY traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.86. 9,658 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 110,771. The stock has a market cap of $471.46 million, a P/E ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.51 and a 200 day moving average of $24.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.31 and a 52 week high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 6.54%.The firm had revenue of $63.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.80 million.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lifeway Foods from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.33.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc NASDAQ: LWAY is a Chicago-based food company specializing in probiotic-rich cultured dairy products. Established in 1986 by Michael Smolyansky, the company pioneered the introduction of kefir to the U.S. market. Under the leadership of CEO Julie Smolyansky, who succeeded her father in 2002, Lifeway has grown from a single product operation into a diversified portfolio of fermented foods and beverages aimed at promoting digestive health and wellness.

The company's flagship product is kefir, a cultured milk beverage naturally rich in probiotics, vitamins and minerals.

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