Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 42,766 Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 42,766 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,859,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at $96,736,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,477,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,330,000 after purchasing an additional 735,901 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Lamb Weston by 697.4% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 350,268 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $23,408,000 after purchasing an additional 306,343 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth $19,802,000. Finally, Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 2,535.7% during the 4th quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 293,086 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $19,587,000 after acquiring an additional 281,966 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $72.00 to $66.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.09.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $55.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.48. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.90 and a twelve month high of $89.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.18.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The specialty retailer reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 27.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.04%.

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.