Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Lamb Weston $LW

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,408,447 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 107,210 shares during the period. Lamb Weston makes up approximately 2.3% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $100,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 185,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,862,000 after purchasing an additional 42,039 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 405.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 256,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after purchasing an additional 206,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 70.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 18,116 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 7,503 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.19 per share, with a total value of $2,159,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,398,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $233,181,946.20. This trade represents a 0.93% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of LW opened at $45.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.77. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $37.62 and a twelve month high of $67.07.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.82.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

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.