Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Invests $110.70 Million in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,989,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,704,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.84% of Conagra Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 10,393 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in Conagra Brands by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 109,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,030,000 after purchasing an additional 20,492 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,745,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,096,000 after purchasing an additional 231,477 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 233,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,468,000 after acquiring an additional 31,019 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in Conagra Brands by 159.0% during the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 78,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 48,349 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Friday, December 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.20.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CAG opened at $26.71 on Friday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.47.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. Conagra Brands’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.25%.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.