Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Stock Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 70.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,348 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 36,115 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $3,658,000 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. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company's stock worth $491,581,000 after purchasing an additional 298,203 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company's stock worth $256,827,000 after purchasing an additional 322,951 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company's stock worth $91,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,765,632 shares of the company's stock worth $86,375,000 after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 88.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,192,610 shares of the company's stock worth $58,342,000 after acquiring an additional 558,944 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CPB shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Campbell Soup Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of CPB traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $38.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,270,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,823,182. The Campbell Soup Company has a 1 year low of $36.92 and a 1 year high of $52.81. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $40.06 and its 200 day moving average is $45.21.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is an increase from Campbell Soup's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.25%.

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.