HighTower Advisors LLC Has $779,000 Stock Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 25.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,755 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Campbell Soup by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 0.4 %

CPB opened at $39.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.08 and its 200 day moving average is $43.09. The Campbell Soup Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.92 and a fifty-two week high of $52.81.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CPB. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on 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. lowered shares of Campbell Soup from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.86.

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.