Insider Selling: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells 13,334 Shares of Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 13,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.60, for a total transaction of $274,680.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,138,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,449,144.80. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Edward Smolyansky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 17th, Edward Smolyansky sold 22,313 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.10, for a total transaction of $448,491.30.

Lifeway Foods Price Performance

LWAY opened at $19.22 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $21.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.34. The company has a market capitalization of $292.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33 and a beta of 0.13. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.10 and a 1-year high of $34.20.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 17th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $55.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 5.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 target price on Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lifeway Foods

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lifeway Foods in the third quarter worth $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Lifeway Foods by 433.3% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Lifeway Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc (NASDAQ: LWAY) is a Chicago-based food company specializing in probiotic-rich cultured dairy products. Established in 1986 by Michael Smolyansky, the company pioneered the introduction of kefir to the U.S. market. Under the leadership of CEO Julie Smolyansky, who succeeded her father in 2002, Lifeway has grown from a single product operation into a diversified portfolio of fermented foods and beverages aimed at promoting digestive health and wellness.

The company’s flagship product is kefir, a cultured milk beverage naturally rich in probiotics, vitamins and minerals.