Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Major Shareholder Sells $237,843.36 in Stock

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWAY) major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 7,984 shares of Lifeway Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.79, for a total value of $237,843.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,110,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,090,940.53. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• On Tuesday, July 7th, Edward Smolyansky sold 39,098 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.41, for a total value of $1,149,872.18.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.56, for a total transaction of $1,478,000.00.
• On Friday, June 26th, Edward Smolyansky sold 111,548 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $3,263,894.48.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Edward Smolyansky sold 38,452 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.85, for a total value of $1,147,792.20.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Edward Smolyansky sold 50,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,310,000.00.
• On Friday, May 15th, Edward Smolyansky sold 24,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.87, for a total value of $596,880.00.
• On Thursday, May 14th, Edward Smolyansky sold 25,000 shares of Lifeway Foods stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.34, for a total transaction of $633,500.00.

Lifeway Foods Stock Up 2.6%

LWAY stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.70. 182,047 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 231,568. Lifeway Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.31 and a 1 year high of $34.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.74. The stock has a market cap of $484.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.68 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.56.

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 6.54% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $63.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.80 million.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LWAY has been the topic 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 cut Lifeway Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a report on Monday, June 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Lifeway Foods by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lifeway Foods by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Lifeway Foods by 9.0% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Finally, Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its position in Lifeway Foods by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 16,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.