Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 360,758 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,917 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Campbell Soup worth $15,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company's stock worth $989,440,000 after buying an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Campbell Soup by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 108,515 shares of the company's stock worth $4,545,000 after purchasing an additional 27,281 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,277,000. AXQ Capital LP increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 26,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $795,000. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Campbell Soup to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.86.

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Insider Transactions at Campbell Soup

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.55. The stock had a trading volume of 687,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,708,738. The business's 50 day moving average price is $39.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.92. The Campbell Soup Company has a 1 year low of $36.92 and a 1 year high of $52.81. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Campbell Soup's payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

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.