Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 18,976 The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Campbell Soup by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,048,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,581,000 after acquiring an additional 298,203 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew 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 worth $387,273,000 after purchasing an additional 531,281 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Campbell Soup by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,265,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,827,000 after purchasing an additional 322,951 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Campbell Soup by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,487,000 after purchasing an additional 199,470 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Campbell Soup by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,958,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,823,000 after purchasing an additional 377,307 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CPB shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Campbell Soup from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Campbell Soup has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Campbell Soup stock opened at $38.05 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.32. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52-week low of $36.92 and a 52-week high of $52.81. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15.

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

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.