Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 16,485 Shares of The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its stake in The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 44.9%, now holding 20,261 shares valued at $809,000 after selling 16,485 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported earnings of $0.73 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and had a 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth at $2.48 billion.
• Campbell's announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share with a dividend yield of 4.7%, marking a high payout ratio of 103.31%.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its holdings in The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 44.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,261 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,485 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Campbell's were worth $809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CPB. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Campbell's by 272.7% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company's stock worth $93,949,000 after buying an additional 1,641,400 shares during the period. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Campbell's by 1,296.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,407,161 shares of the company's stock worth $58,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,372 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Campbell's by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,645,548 shares of the company's stock worth $194,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,957 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Campbell's in the 4th quarter worth about $48,468,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Campbell's by 119.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,998,756 shares of the company's stock worth $83,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086,856 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CPB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Campbell's from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Campbell's from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Argus cut shares of Campbell's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Campbell's in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Campbell's from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Campbell's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.06.

Campbell's Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,082,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,710,841. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.15 and a 200-day moving average of $35.82. The Campbell's Company has a 12 month low of $29.39 and a 12 month high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.08.

Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Campbell's had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 23.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Campbell's Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Campbell's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.31%.

About Campbell's

The Campbell's Company, formerly known as 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.