Atria Investments Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Up 4.8 %

NYSE:LW opened at $50.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.47. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $47.90 and a 1-year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released 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). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Lamb Weston

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.