Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 503,095 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,016,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 503,095 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 2.12% of Lamb Weston worth $201,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,270,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $96,736,000. Continental Grain Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth about $63,786,000. Boston Partners lifted 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 purchasing an additional 735,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 697.4% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 350,268 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $23,408,000 after purchasing an additional 306,343 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Lamb Weston stock traded down $0.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.74. The stock had a trading volume of 427,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,642,291. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $89.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.54.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Lamb Weston from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.64.

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.