Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 176,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 569 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $7,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Campbell Soup in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Campbell Soup in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Campbell Soup from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.17.

Insider Transactions at Campbell Soup

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 1.7 %

Campbell Soup stock opened at $38.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. Campbell Soup has a one year low of $37.61 and a one year high of $52.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.19.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is 85.25%.

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.