Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 45,000 Shares of Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB)

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 733,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $33,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 258,511.8% during the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 43,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 43,947 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 52,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 11,605 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Campbell Soup by 5.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,987,000 after acquiring an additional 7,534 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 82.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 11,347 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Campbell Soup stock opened at $51.21 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.07. Campbell Soup has a 52 week low of $37.94 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The stock has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 24.08%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Campbell Soup’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CPB shares. StockNews.com lowered Campbell Soup from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Argus raised Campbell Soup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.69.

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.