Advisors Asset Management Inc. Buys 44,477 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 45.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 143,052 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,477 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $4,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 4.0% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 44,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 1,718 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the third quarter worth $1,112,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the third quarter worth $989,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the third quarter worth $360,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 32.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 26,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 6,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $27.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.93. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.21 and a 1-year high of $33.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.07). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.71% and a net margin of 4.14%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 135.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CAG has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.63.

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.