B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Cuts Stock Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 89.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,241 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,908,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,312,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,440,000 after purchasing an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 2.6 %

Campbell Soup stock opened at $38.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

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.