Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Trims Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,194,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110,332 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $33,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CAG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,473,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $47,980,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,069,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Conagra Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $18,268,000. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 134.8% during the first quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 848,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,152,000 after purchasing an additional 487,108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

Shares of CAG stock opened at $31.09 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.40. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $31.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.32.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 14.31%. The business’s revenue was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 1st. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 191.78%.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Conagra Brands news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total transaction of $469,034.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,439,523.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.45.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.