Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 16,150 Shares of Lamb Weston $LW

Meyer Handelman Co. lessened its stake in Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) by 27.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,850 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 16,150 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lamb Weston by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Lamb Weston by 380.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LW. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $55.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp purchased 136,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.89 per share, for a total transaction of $5,561,040.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,148,980 shares in the company, valued at $210,541,792.20. This trade represents a 2.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Peter J. Bensen acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $39.45 per share, for a total transaction of $197,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $678,697.80. This trade represents a 40.97% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 391,000 shares of company stock valued at $16,270,790 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lamb Weston Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE:LW opened at $44.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.47. Lamb Weston has a twelve month low of $37.62 and a twelve month high of $67.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.76.

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

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 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 is presently 71.03%.

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.