Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 16,092 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,229,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,092 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.86% of Lamb Weston worth $82,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 6.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LW opened at $52.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.83. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.28 and a 1-year high of $107.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. 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 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 net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Charles A. Blixt purchased 1,200 shares of the business’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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.94 per share, with a total value of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on LW shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.