Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Purchases 158,246 Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 839,888 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,246 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $35,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 worth $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 161.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 186,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,801,000 after acquiring an additional 115,122 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,062,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 147,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,156,000 after buying an additional 84,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Campbell Soup by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,787,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,860,000 after purchasing an additional 21,849 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of CPB opened at $38.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.96. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, 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 $36.02 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is 90.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CPB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Campbell Soup in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.86.

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.