Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky Sells 45,616 Shares of Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 45,616 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $1,352,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 607,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,003,687.55. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. 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 stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Wednesday, June 24th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 40,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.12, for a total value of $1,204,800.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.64, for a total value of $492,800.00.
• On Monday, April 20th, Ludmila Smolyansky sold 15,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $397,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of LWAY stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.42. The company had a trading volume of 482,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,436. The company has a market capitalization of $449.54 million, a P/E ratio of 30.33 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.14. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.31 and a twelve month high of $34.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.23.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Lifeway Foods had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 6.54%.The firm had revenue of $63.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.80 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LWAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lifeway Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Institutional Trading of Lifeway Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Lifeway Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Lifeway Foods by 577.3% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Lifeway Foods in the first quarter worth about $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

About Lifeway Foods

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.