Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $41.94 Million Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 2,552.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,289,751 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,241,121 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.27% of Conagra Brands worth $41,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 144.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

CAG opened at $29.35 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.27. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.62 and a 1-year high of $33.24. The stock has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 135.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Conagra Brands news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CAG shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.63.

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.