Trillium Asset Management LLC Has $7.74 Million Position in Lamb Weston $LW

Trillium Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 181,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 33,785 shares during the quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $7,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arnhold LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 710.2% during the fourth quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 38,217 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 33,500 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 46.3% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $124,872,000 after acquiring an additional 680,000 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 89,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 27,835 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 8.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 535,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,108,000 after acquiring an additional 42,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 2,682.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 801,708 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,584,000 after acquiring an additional 772,893 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $45.27 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $37.62 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.82 and a 200-day moving average of $45.77.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lamb Weston will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.82.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.19 per share, for a total transaction of $2,159,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.45 per share, with a total value of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Lamb Weston

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.