The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,246,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 459,882 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $52,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,623,000 after buying an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Campbell Soup by 161.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 186,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,801,000 after acquiring an additional 115,122 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter worth about $1,062,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $6,156,000 after purchasing an additional 84,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,787,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,860,000 after purchasing an additional 21,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPB has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Consumer Edge reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Campbell Soup Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ CPB opened at $38.14 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.16. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12 month low of $36.02 and a 12 month high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share 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. Investors 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 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Campbell Soup Company 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.