Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 618,111 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 767.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 698,643 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 618,111 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.15% of Conagra Brands worth $19,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CAG. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62,187 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,175,000 after acquiring an additional 22,790 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $341,048,000 after acquiring an additional 618,096 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Conagra Brands by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company's stock worth $3,756,000 after buying an additional 15,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $558,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

CAG traded down $0.56 on Friday, hitting $24.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,676,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,086,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $33.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $25.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.82. The stock has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.27.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is 205.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CAG shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Conagra Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.90.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.