Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,620 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,306 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Campbell Soup worth $13,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Campbell Soup by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CPB. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.86.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB opened at $39.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.92. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52-week low of $36.92 and a 52-week high of $52.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.17%.

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.