Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,625,605 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 447,203 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 7.93% of Campbell Soup worth $989,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CPB. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company's stock worth $491,581,000 after purchasing an additional 298,203 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $387,273,000 after purchasing an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company's stock worth $256,827,000 after buying an additional 322,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,487,000 after acquiring an additional 199,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Campbell Soup by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,958,238 shares of the company's stock worth $76,823,000 after acquiring an additional 377,307 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on CPB shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Consumer Edge reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.22 on Wednesday, reaching $39.69. 570,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,708,390. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.92. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week 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 $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup's payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Campbell Soup Company 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.