Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 11% during the first quarter, accumulating 874,815 shares valued at approximately $23.3 million.
• Conagra Brands reported earnings per share of $0.56 for the last quarter, missing estimates by $0.05, with a revenue of $2.78 billion which was down 4.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 7.3% and a payout ratio of 58.58%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 874,815 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 86,666 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Conagra Brands worth $23,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CAG. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 19.2% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 5,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 320.9% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 19,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 15,227 shares during the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its holdings in Conagra Brands by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 138,453 shares of the company's stock worth $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,378,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,100,000 after buying an additional 138,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,856,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Performance

NYSE CAG traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $19.53. The stock had a trading volume of 8,180,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,705,410. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.29 and a 200 day moving average of $23.31. The stock has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.08. Conagra Brands has a 52-week low of $18.18 and a 52-week high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.05). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%. The company had revenue of $2,781,800 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Conagra Brands's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is 58.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CAG. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Conagra Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.58.

Conagra Brands Profile

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.