Trillium Asset Management LLC Buys 26,965 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,023 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,965 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Lamb Weston worth $14,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LW. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the fourth 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 period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the third 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 period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.25 per share, with a total value of $75,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % 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 company insiders.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $52.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.90 and a fifty-two week high of $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.82 and a 200-day moving average of $66.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

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.