Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,246,911 shares of the company's stock after selling 459,882 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.42% of Campbell Soup worth $52,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPB. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Campbell Soup by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Campbell Soup from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Consumer Edge reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Four 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.86.

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Campbell Soup Stock Down 3.0 %

CPB stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,615,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,227. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.02 and a fifty-two week high of $52.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.96.

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

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup's payout ratio is 90.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. The trade was a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 20.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.