Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,449 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,963 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,623,000 after buying an additional 1,792,005 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Campbell Soup by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,192,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,342,000 after buying an additional 558,944 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,769,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Campbell Soup by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,827,000 after buying an additional 322,951 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CPB shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $56.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.17.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ CPB traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.64. 2,029,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,829,155. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.11. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12 month low of $36.92 and a 12 month high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a positive change from Campbell Soup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Campbell Soup

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.