Ballentine Partners LLC Buys 262 Shares of Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,646 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Campbell Soup during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 463.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Campbell Soup stock opened at $38.59 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.13. The stock has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.19. 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 has a 12 month low of $37.61 and a 12 month high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. Research analysts predict that Campbell Soup will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a boost from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.25%.

About Campbell Soup

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.