IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,469 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,280 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $3,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,213,508 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $78,563,000 after acquiring an additional 9,614 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lamb Weston by 39.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 156,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,115,000 after purchasing an additional 44,057 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 172.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 25,063 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 15,878 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 614.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 693 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Lamb Weston by 13.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,680 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the period. 89.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Lamb Weston in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lamb Weston to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Lamb Weston from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Lamb Weston in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.73.

Lamb Weston Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of LW opened at $53.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.98. The stock has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.76. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.90 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.50%.

Insider Transactions at Lamb Weston

In related news, Director Robert A. Niblock purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.94 per share, for a total transaction of $182,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 26,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,181.64. This represents a 12.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.