Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 387 Shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $87,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LW. City State Bank raised its stake in Lamb Weston by 56.2% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in 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 period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lamb Weston by 143.8% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

Lamb Weston stock opened at $58.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $107.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.52.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.35). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 27.82% and a net margin of 5.80%. Lamb Weston’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Lamb Weston’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Lamb Weston’s payout ratio is 58.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LW. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lamb Weston from $87.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insider Activity

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