Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 92.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,580 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,393 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62,187 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 110.8% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,768 shares of the company's stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 19,329 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,175,000 after buying an additional 22,790 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company's stock worth $341,048,000 after purchasing an additional 618,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE CAG traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.73. The company had a trading volume of 6,987,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,112,202. The stock has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The business's 50-day moving average is $25.69 and its 200-day moving average is $27.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 205.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on CAG shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.90.

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.