Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes $5.34 Million Position in The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. invested approximately $5.34 million in The Campbell's Company by acquiring 133,808 shares during the first quarter, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Recent analyst reports downgraded Campbell's stock price targets, with Bank of America lowering their forecast from $37.00 to $33.00 and others following suit, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, which will be paid in early August, representing an annualized yield of 4.78%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 133,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,342,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CPB. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Campbell's by 58.9% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,118 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. Hamel Associates Inc. grew its position in Campbell's by 32.4% during the first quarter. Hamel Associates Inc. now owns 102,655 shares of the company's stock worth $4,098,000 after buying an additional 25,140 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its position in Campbell's by 22.9% during the first quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 211,596 shares of the company's stock worth $8,447,000 after buying an additional 39,385 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC grew its position in Campbell's by 34.8% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 15,662 shares of the company's stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Campbell's by 4.9% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 24,903 shares of the company's stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company's stock.

Campbell's Price Performance

NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.42 on Monday, reaching $32.24. 4,517,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,047,511. The firm has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The Campbell's Company has a 12 month low of $29.39 and a 12 month high of $52.81.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. Campbell's had a return on equity of 23.22% and a net margin of 4.44%. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Campbell's Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Campbell's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CPB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Campbell's from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Argus cut Campbell's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Campbell's from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Campbell's from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Campbell's from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Campbell's Profile

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.