Norges Bank Acquires New Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Norges Bank bought a new position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,215,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,908,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,440,000 after purchasing an additional 447,203 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,581,000 after buying an additional 298,203 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,273,000 after acquiring an additional 531,281 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Campbell Soup by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,827,000 after acquiring an additional 322,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Campbell Soup by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,487,000 after acquiring an additional 199,470 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ CPB opened at $38.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.71 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.16 and its 200 day moving average is $42.71. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52 week low of $36.92 and a 52 week high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. The trade was a 6.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on CPB. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.86.

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.