Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Reduces Holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,775 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 998 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 5.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 155.7% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.73.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In other news, Director Robert A. Niblock bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles A. Blixt bought 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.25 per share, for a total transaction of $75,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,611.50. The trade was a 5.51 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Shares of Lamb Weston stock opened at $53.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.45. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $47.90 and a one year high of $107.50.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Lamb Weston’s revenue was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

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.