ING Groep NV Acquires Shares of 25,363 The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 25,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Campbell Soup by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Campbell Soup in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Campbell Soup

In other news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at $693,486.90. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

NASDAQ CPB opened at $40.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, 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 Campbell Soup Company has a twelve month low of $36.92 and a twelve month high of $52.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.84.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CPB. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.17.

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.