Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Holdings in Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in shares of Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 505 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.7% in the first quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 42,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,869,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup in the first quarter worth $86,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 31.0% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 688,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,618,000 after buying an additional 163,175 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 35.8% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 598,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,598,000 after buying an additional 157,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 85.2% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 13,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 6,083 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Performance

Shares of CPB traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $46.96. 560,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,652,927. Campbell Soup has a 1-year low of $37.94 and a 1-year high of $48.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.20.

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 23.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Campbell Soup will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CPB shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Campbell Soup in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.56.

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.