Achmea Investment Management B.V. Boosts Stock Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,406 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CPB. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,312,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,958,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,823,000 after acquiring an additional 377,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,769,000. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB opened at $38.42 on Friday. The Campbell Soup Company has a 1 year low of $36.92 and a 1 year high of $52.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Campbell Soup

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BNP Paribas raised Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.23.

About Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada.