Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Position in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 25% in the fourth quarter, ending with 785,989 shares worth about $13.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to their positions, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 83.75% of Conagra’s stock.
• Insiders bought shares and Wall Street remains cautious: two directors recently purchased stock, but analysts currently rate the shares an average of “Reduce” with a target price of $14.13.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 785,989 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 157,423 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.16% of Conagra Brands worth $13,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Conagra Brands by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,202,392 shares of the company's stock worth $536,363,000 after purchasing an additional 588,435 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,667,780 shares of the company's stock worth $305,829,000 after buying an additional 2,079,903 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,622,165 shares of the company's stock worth $305,044,000 after buying an additional 2,948,081 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,229,557 shares of the company's stock worth $263,624,000 after buying an additional 2,376,823 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 19.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,130,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,113,000 after buying an additional 1,984,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Conagra Brands

In related news, Director John J. Mulligan acquired 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Lenny acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, for a total transaction of $358,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 229,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,288,735.60. This trade represents a 12.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CAG. Weiss Ratings lowered Conagra Brands from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Conagra Brands from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $12.00 target price (down from $16.00) on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $14.13.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $14.06 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.88. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -140.64 and a beta of -0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.90. Conagra Brands has a one year low of $12.53 and a one year high of $20.82.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra's product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender's and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt's sauces, Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.