Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 834,588 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,335,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 834,588 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Conagra Brands worth $66,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAG. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $287,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $169,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Conagra Brands by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

CAG opened at $28.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.95. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.16 and a 52-week high of $34.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.30.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 4th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.25% and a net margin of 7.86%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. Conagra Brands’s payout ratio is 70.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 15,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $469,034.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 113,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,439,523.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAG. Barclays boosted their target price on Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.14.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.