The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Campbell Soup worth $7,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 52.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Campbell Soup stock opened at $38.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.99. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12-month low of $36.92 and a 12-month high of $52.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. Equities analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. Campbell Soup’s payout ratio is currently 85.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Campbell Soup

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CPB. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.17.

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.