Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 410,229 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,932 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Conagra Brands worth $11,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $168,877,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,704,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,798,952 shares of the company's stock worth $1,631,671,000 after buying an additional 1,132,839 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 114.5% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,927,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,478,000 after buying an additional 1,028,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,462,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,582,000 after buying an additional 642,806 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CAG shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.90.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.37. 928,864 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,193,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. The company's 50 day moving average is $25.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.05.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. Conagra Brands's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 205.88%.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.