State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 53,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $2,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Campbell Soup by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPB opened at $41.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.31. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The stock has a market cap of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.74 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Campbell Soup presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.36.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In other Campbell Soup 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 value of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup 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.