State of Michigan Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,601 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $4,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 144.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 143.3% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total transaction of $1,211,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares in the company, valued at $4,890,108.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.25. 141,273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,648,849. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $29.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.16 and a fifty-two week high of $31.82.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 191.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CAG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.90.

About Conagra Brands

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.