The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Stock Holdings Lessened by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,436 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,581,000 after purchasing an additional 298,203 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,273,000 after purchasing an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,827,000 after purchasing an additional 322,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,487,000 after purchasing an additional 199,470 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,958,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,823,000 after purchasing an additional 377,307 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Consumer Edge reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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 report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.23.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB opened at $38.08 on Friday. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.07 and its 200-day moving average is $43.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15.

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

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.