DnB Asset Management AS Trims Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $2,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 88,020 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,882,000 after acquiring an additional 40,309 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 87,682 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,860,000 after purchasing an additional 11,553 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 43,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,921,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,736,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $2,648,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LW. Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.55.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

NYSE LW opened at $53.21 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.73. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.90 and a 1 year high of $105.31. 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 company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lamb Weston news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.