Insider Selling: The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) EVP Sells 2,498 Shares of Stock

The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of Campbell Soup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,727.70. This represents a 6.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 1.3 %

Campbell Soup stock opened at $39.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The Campbell Soup Company has a one year low of $36.92 and a one year high of $52.81.

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

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Campbell Soup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Campbell Soup by 53.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the 4th quarter worth $135,000. QSM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter worth $6,556,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter worth $10,462,000. 52.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CPB shares. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Campbell Soup to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. 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 report on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.86.

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.