Bank of Montreal Can Buys Shares of 15,630 Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)

Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.11% of Lifeway Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Lifeway Foods by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 5,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 451.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 8,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towerview LLC boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Towerview LLC now owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 36.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Lifeway Foods Trading Up 1.9 %

LWAY stock opened at $23.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $357.27 million, a PE ratio of 27.33 and a beta of 0.93. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.06 and a 1 year high of $28.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.67.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, March 14th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $46.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.00 million. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 19.97%.

Insider Activity at Lifeway Foods

In other news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 17,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $429,316.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 905,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,667,286.16. This trade represents a 1.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $464,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,251,642 shares in the company, valued at $29,075,643.66. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,324 shares of company stock valued at $1,539,957. Corporate insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream.