Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 57,717 Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,323,332 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 57,717 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.79% of Campbell Soup worth $222,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the fourth 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 period. 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% during the fourth 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. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. increased its holdings in 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, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company's stock worth $177,487,000 after acquiring an additional 199,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

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Campbell Soup Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 962,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,738,226. The company has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The Campbell Soup Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.02 and a fifty-two week high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $38.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.24.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CPB shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, Consumer Edge reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.86.

Insider Activity

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,504,727.70. This 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. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

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.