The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Shares Acquired by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. increased its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,925,365 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,160 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. owned about 2.32% of Campbell Soup worth $290,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPB. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company's stock worth $91,623,000 after buying an additional 1,792,005 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter worth about $50,908,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company's stock worth $387,273,000 after purchasing an additional 531,281 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at $21,312,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $989,440,000 after buying an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CPB. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Campbell Soup to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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 related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ CPB traded down $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.25. 1,375,528 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,711,530. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12-month low of $36.92 and a 12-month high of $52.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.92.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Campbell Soup's payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Campbell Soup Profile

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.