Sarasin & Partners LLP Invests $1.26 Million in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,261,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 20.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 207,710 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,128,000 after acquiring an additional 34,553 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Lamb Weston by 66.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,364 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the first quarter valued at about $810,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the second quarter valued at about $7,937,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LW. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $98.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $115.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $61.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $96.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lamb Weston presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.70.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of LW stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.93. 1,639,623 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,560,137. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.99 and a 1 year high of $111.88. The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The specialty retailer reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.24 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 44.06%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.23%.

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.