Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) by 36.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 468,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265,936 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Campbell Soup worth $21,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $164,197,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 3,894.4% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,308,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250,789 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 16.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,182,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,749,650 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 66.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,512,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408,175 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,259,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,036,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,605 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CPB. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $45.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stanley Polomski sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $346,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,572.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.64% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Shares of CPB opened at $40.73 on Tuesday. Campbell Soup has a 1 year low of $37.94 and a 1 year high of $57.78. The company has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.81 and a 200-day moving average of $44.63.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 31st. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 25.14%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Campbell Soup will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 4th. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.75%.

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.