Marshall Wace LLP Boosts Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 1,362.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,406,743 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,242,186 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.50% of Conagra Brands worth $68,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 297.4% during the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 153,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after acquiring an additional 114,607 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 15,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 18,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 91.4% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 5,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Conagra Brands

In other news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $32.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a PE ratio of 44.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.16 and a 52 week high of $33.24.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 1st were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is currently 191.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.10.

About Conagra Brands

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.