Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 7,300 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,300 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 25,411 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,978,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at about $618,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 123,831 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,234,000 after buying an additional 14,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 327,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,653,000 after buying an additional 4,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $84.35 per share, for a total transaction of $253,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 162,835 shares in the company, valued at $13,735,132.25. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE LW opened at $95.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.71. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.39 and a 52-week high of $117.38. The company has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 5th. The specialty retailer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.55. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 77.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty retailer to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LW shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Thursday, October 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Monday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.29.

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.