Caprock Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Caprock Group LLC trimmed its position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,503 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CPB. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $293,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 37,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Monte Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC now owns 124,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,214,000 after acquiring an additional 6,562 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 7,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Campbell Soup stock opened at $37.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Campbell Soup Company has a one year low of $37.01 and a one year high of $52.81. The company has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.61.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. As a group, analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CPB. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.17.

Campbell Soup 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.