Advisory Services Network LLC Trims Stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Advisory Services Network LLC decreased its stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,665 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,540 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 36,746 shares of the company's stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $194,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,957 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,379,000 after acquiring an additional 18,719 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 625,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at $3,815,000. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Consumer Edge restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.27.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 0.7 %

CPB stock traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $37.62. 805,372 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,759,514. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.57. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12-month low of $36.02 and a 12-month high of $52.81. The stock has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 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 is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Campbell Soup's payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,727.70. This represents a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

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.