Gabelli Funds LLC Has $30.62 Million Stake in Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB)

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 688,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,175 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.23% of Campbell Soup worth $30,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 3.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 2.1% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 12,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 6,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 5.5% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Campbell Soup by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CPB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Friday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Campbell Soup from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Campbell Soup from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $46.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.56.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

CPB stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.75. 2,644,154 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,112,084. Campbell Soup has a 1-year low of $37.94 and a 1-year high of $48.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.26% and a net margin of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.92%.

Campbell Soup Company 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.