Machina Capital S.A.S. Makes New Investment in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CPB. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,005 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 88.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,192,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,342,000 after purchasing an additional 558,944 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Campbell Soup by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,273,000 after buying an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,312,000. Finally, Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,769,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total transaction of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. This trade 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 through this link. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 5.1 %

CPB opened at $41.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.31. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The company has a market cap of $12.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G 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.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Campbell Soup from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

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.