Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPB opened at $38.05 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $36.92 and a fifty-two week high of $52.81. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.06 and a 200-day moving average of $43.32.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Campbell Soup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in 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 period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Campbell Soup by 272.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,400 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1,296.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,407,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,372 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,957 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth about $50,908,000. 52.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.