JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 75,383 Shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) by 712.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,959 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,383 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.58% of Lifeway Foods worth $2,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 28.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 53,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 12,020 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lifeway Foods by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 115,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Lifeway Foods by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 5,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 55,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.39% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lifeway Foods news, major shareholder Ludmila Smolyansky sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.31, for a total value of $213,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,343 shares in the company, valued at $369,579.33. The trade was a 36.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $464,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,251,642 shares in the company, valued at $29,075,643.66. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,324 shares of company stock worth $1,539,957. Insiders own 18.86% of the company’s stock.

Lifeway Foods Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LWAY opened at $23.40 on Thursday. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.06 and a twelve month high of $28.61. The company has a market cap of $355.75 million, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $22.76 and its 200 day moving average is $23.67.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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