Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 72,801 Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 441,221 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 72,801 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.15% of Campbell Soup worth $18,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $989,440,000 after acquiring an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company's stock worth $491,581,000 after buying an additional 298,203 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company's stock worth $387,273,000 after buying an additional 531,281 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,925,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,034,000 after buying an additional 35,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,827,000 after acquiring an additional 322,951 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In related news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Campbell Soup stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $38.14. 4,110,969 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,757,594. The stock has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.08. The Campbell Soup Company has a twelve month low of $36.02 and a twelve month high of $52.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Campbell Soup from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.86.

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.