Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $87,000 Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LW. City State Bank raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 56.2% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lamb Weston in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 155.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Lamb Weston during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

NYSE LW opened at $58.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.17 and its 200-day moving average is $67.52. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.99 and a 12-month high of $107.50.

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

Lamb Weston Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup lowered shares of 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 research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

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.