Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Reduces Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $5,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,581,000 after buying an additional 298,203 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,827,000 after purchasing an additional 322,951 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,487,000 after purchasing an additional 199,470 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,958,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,823,000 after purchasing an additional 377,307 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Campbell Soup

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Campbell Soup stock opened at $38.08 on Monday. 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 Campbell Soup Company has a twelve month low of $36.92 and a twelve month high of $52.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.42. The company has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is 90.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.23.

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.