Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 508,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,312,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of Campbell Soup at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $387,273,000 after purchasing an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,769,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,827,000 after acquiring an additional 322,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $491,581,000 after acquiring an additional 298,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

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Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.52 during trading on Thursday, reaching $37.98. 3,724,288 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,592,140. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12 month low of $36.92 and a 12 month high of $52.81. The firm has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.69. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Insider Transactions at Campbell Soup

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CPB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Campbell Soup from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell Soup to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.23.

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.