Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) Shares Sold by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,851 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,784 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned about 0.11% of Lamb Weston worth $10,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth about $423,270,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,736,000. JANA Partners Management LP lifted 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 worth $476,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,585 shares during the period. Continental Grain Co. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter valued at $63,786,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in Lamb Weston by 26.8% during 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 during the period. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price objective on Lamb Weston and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.64.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE LW traded down $0.72 on Thursday, hitting $52.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,368,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,651,065. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.90 and a 52-week high of $89.51. The business's fifty day moving average price is $53.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.68. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.04%.

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.