National Pension Service Has $37.73 Million Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,160,249 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 93,581 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.24% of Conagra Brands worth $37,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 237.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 76,971 shares of the company's stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 54,195 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 261.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 147,082 shares of the company's stock worth $4,360,000 after buying an additional 106,368 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,429,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 573.4% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,046 shares of the company's stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 32,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,829,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Conagra Brands Trading Down 2.1 %

CAG stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.30. 5,644,770 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,705,190. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.62 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.78 and its 200-day moving average is $30.20. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is 135.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CAG. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.63.

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.