The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) Shares Sold by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 26.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,888 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $3,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,908,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,312,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,440,000 after purchasing an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,486.90. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

CPB stock opened at $39.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.92. The Campbell Soup Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.92 and a fifty-two week high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Campbell Soup Company 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.