Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 72,801 Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 441,221 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,801 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.15% of Campbell Soup worth $18,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 447,203 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,581,000 after purchasing an additional 298,203 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 531,281 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,925,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,034,000 after buying an additional 35,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Campbell Soup by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,827,000 after buying an additional 322,951 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

CPB opened at $38.09 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12 month low of $36.92 and a 12 month high of $52.81.

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

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is 90.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CPB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.