Northern Trust Corp Raises Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,425,510 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 120,279 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.00% of Lamb Weston worth $95,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter valued at about $423,270,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,736,000. Continental Grain Co. acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,786,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $232,330,000 after purchasing an additional 735,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,016,944 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $201,624,000 after purchasing an additional 503,095 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of LW traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,209,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,848. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.46. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.90 and a 52 week high of $89.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.49.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 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 business had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $56.00 price target on shares of Lamb Weston and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.