Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “LW.” At July 17, 2024, there were 9,930 holders of record of our common stock. The majority of holders of Lamb Weston common stock are “street name” or beneficial holders, whose shares of record are held by banks, brokers, and other financial institutions.
Dividends
Our Board intends to continue to consider declaring and paying dividends on Lamb Weston common stock based on our financial condition and results of operations, as well as applicable covenants under our debt agreements. However, our Board has no obligation under Delaware law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to declare or pay dividends, and dividends on Lamb Weston common stock are limited to legally available funds.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer
The following table presents information related to total shares purchased during the periods presented below:
Period Total Number
of Shares (or
Units)
Purchased (a) Average
Price Paid
Per Share
(or Unit) Total Number of
Shares (or Units)
Purchased as Part of
Publicly Announced
Plans or Programs (b) Approximate Dollar
Value of Maximum
Number of Shares that
May Yet be Purchased
Under Plans or Programs
(in millions) (b)
February 26, 2024 through March 24, 2024 17 $ 102.05 — $ 450.0
March 25, 2024 through April 21, 2024 248,661 $ 80.66 247,962 $ 430.0
April 22, 2024 through May 26, 2024 483,621 $ 82.91 482,341 $ 390.0
Total 732,299
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(a) Represents repurchased shares of our common stock under our publicly announced share repurchase program, which were repurchased at a weighted average price of $82.15 per share, and shares withheld from employees to cover income and payroll taxes on equity awards that vested during the period.
(b) On December 20, 2018, we announced that our Board had authorized a $250.0 million share repurchase program with no expiration date. On December 17, 2021, we announced that our Board had authorized the repurchase of an additional $250.0 million of our common stock under this program, bringing the total amount authorized under the program to $500.0 million of our common stock. On October 11, 2023, we announced that our Board had increased our share repurchase authorization under the program to an aggregate of $500.0 million of our common stock, including $123.9 million of previously authorized but unused capacity under the program. As of May 26, 2024, $390.0 million remained authorized and available for repurchase under this program. Repurchases under our share repurchase program may be made at our discretion from time to time on the open market, subject to applicable laws, including pursuant to a repurchase plan administered in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or through privately negotiated transactions.
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Performance Graph
The following graph and table compare the cumulative total return on our common stock with the cumulative total return of the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index, the S&P 400 Packaged Foods Index, which we consider to be our peer group, and the S&P 500 Packaged Foods Index for the five years ended May 24, 2024 (the last trading day of our fiscal year). The graph and table assume that $100 was invested in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, the S&P 400 Packaged Foods Index, and the S&P 500 Packaged Foods Index on May 24, 2019, and that all dividends were reinvested . The cumulative total return shown below are based on the last trading day in Lamb Weston’s fiscal year.
May 24,
2019 May 29,
2020 May 28,
2021 May 27,
2022 May 26,
2023 May 24,
2024
Lamb Weston $ 100 $ 98 $ 136 $ 114 $ 186 $ 153
S&P 500 Index $ 100 $ 110 $ 154 $ 155 $ 159 $ 204
S&P 400 Packaged Foods Index $ 100 $ 95 $ 112 $ 108 $ 111 $ 119
S&P 500 Packaged Foods Index $ 100 $ 107 $ 127 $ 134 $ 148 $ 133
The above performance graph and other information furnished under this Part II, Item 5 of this Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, or to the provisions of Section 18, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
ITEM 6. RESERVED
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