M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stake in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its holdings in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,682 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,973 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LW. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Lamb Weston by 406.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,530 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $86,407,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Lamb Weston by 277.2% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 566,553 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $61,238,000 after purchasing an additional 416,339 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 121.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 746,424 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,014,000 after purchasing an additional 409,810 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 639,798 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $59,156,000 after buying an additional 343,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston during the third quarter worth approximately $24,254,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $138.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $132.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.40.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LW opened at $85.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $93.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.79. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.41 and a 52 week high of $117.38.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The specialty retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 50.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.23%.

About Lamb Weston

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.