Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 31,934 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 56.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 31,934 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,819 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. The trade was a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

Lamb Weston Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LW stock opened at $52.88 on Wednesday. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.90 and a 1-year high of $107.50. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $56.82 and a 200 day moving average of $66.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.50%.

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.