Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,168 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 13,460 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,646,887 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,112,511,000 after purchasing an additional 58,066 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $423,270,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $232,330,000 after acquiring an additional 735,901 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,436,604 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $229,065,000 after acquiring an additional 48,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,226,695 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $215,640,000 after acquiring an additional 187,058 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.3 %

LW traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.90. 1,325,915 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,666,823. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.97. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $89.51.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is 58.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.64.

Lamb Weston 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.