Raymond James & Associates Lowers Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Raymond James & Associates decreased its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 78.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 403,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,486,248 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $13,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAG. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 144.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. 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 objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of Conagra Brands 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $29.43 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.25. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.32. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.62 and a 1 year high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 191.78%.

Conagra Brands 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.