Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 17,208 Shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,369,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,208 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $59,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPB. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 22,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 147,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 117.8% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 8,890 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 14,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Campbell Soup by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 101,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,161,000 after buying an additional 20,132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Campbell Soup from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Friday, June 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.31.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

NYSE:CPB opened at $44.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Campbell Soup has a 52 week low of $37.94 and a 52 week high of $46.97. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.19.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.26% and a net margin of 7.85%. Campbell Soup’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

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.