Korea Investment CORP Purchases 127,334 Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 415.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 157,950 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 127,334 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.05% of Campbell Soup worth $6,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 165,494 shares of the company's stock worth $8,096,000 after acquiring an additional 42,216 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Campbell Soup during the third quarter worth about $223,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,009 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 348.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 143,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,007,000 after purchasing an additional 111,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Campbell Soup in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,913,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. This represents a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CPB. Consumer Edge restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of 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 research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas raised Campbell Soup to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Shares of Campbell Soup stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.79. The company had a trading volume of 5,119,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,728,129. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.71. 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 capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.