PGGM Investments Reduces Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

PGGM Investments lessened its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,549 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,286 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments' holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $5,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 113.4% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 303 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Lamb Weston by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Lamb Weston by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,084 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Lamb Weston by 300.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,294 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company's stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $84.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,652,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,306,163. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.41 and a 12-month high of $117.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.51 and a 200-day moving average of $98.51. The company has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The business's revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 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 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Lamb Weston's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Monday, March 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $128.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lamb Weston from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.40.

About Lamb Weston

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.