Insider Selling: Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) EVP Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

CPB opened at $40.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.85 and its 200 day moving average is $46.66. Campbell Soup has a 12-month low of $40.26 and a 12-month high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is a boost from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,581,000 after acquiring an additional 298,203 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,827,000 after acquiring an additional 322,951 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,876,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,971,000 after acquiring an additional 363,736 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 5,022.5% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,438,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390,700 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, December 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.92.

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.