Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 157.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 68,207 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Lamb Weston worth $7,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LW stock opened at $51.87 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.21. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.28 and a twelve month high of $107.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.00.

Insider Activity at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. This represents a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This trade represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.