Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $35.17 Million Stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 839,888 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 158,246 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.28% of Campbell Soup worth $35,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $91,623,000 after buying an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company's stock worth $194,556,000 after buying an additional 1,282,957 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,908,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 294.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 837,301 shares of the company's stock worth $35,115,000 after buying an additional 625,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Campbell Soup from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.86.

Insider Activity

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 value 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 $1,504,727.70. This represents a 6.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CPB stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,536,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,766,827. The stock has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52-week low of $36.02 and a 52-week high of $52.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.82.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Campbell Soup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.