Jennison Associates LLC Has $53.93 Million Position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW) by 97.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 498,903 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 246,622 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Lamb Weston were worth $53,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 113.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 303 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Lamb Weston by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Lamb Weston by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,084 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lamb Weston by 537.1% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LW. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lamb Weston from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $128.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Lamb Weston in a report on Monday, March 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $128.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $125.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.40.

Lamb Weston Stock Performance

LW opened at $83.73 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.72. Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.41 and a 1-year high of $117.38. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.72.

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 16.71%. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lamb Weston Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Lamb Weston’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.