Sarasin & Partners LLP Buys New Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 15,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,261,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 20.0% in 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 during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 66.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 15,364 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 1st quarter worth about $810,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,937,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,639,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,137. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.38. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.99 and a twelve month high of $111.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on LW shares. TD Cowen lowered Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $61.00 in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $106.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Consumer Edge downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director William G. Jurgensen bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $55.43 per share, for a total transaction of $554,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 173,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,610,287.11. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.