The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $19.81 Million Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands $CAG

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Conagra Brands by 6.3%, selling 49,835 shares and retaining 742,946 shares valued at approximately $19.8 million.
• Conagra Brands reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.56, missing analysts' expectations of $0.61, and experienced a 4.3% decrease in revenue year-over-year for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, leading to a dividend yield of 7.5% and a payout ratio of 58.58%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 742,946 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,835 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.16% of Conagra Brands worth $19,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,596,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 4,660.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 95,200 shares of the company's stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 93,200 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 125.7% in the 1st quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 246,415 shares of the company's stock worth $6,572,000 after acquiring an additional 137,217 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,971,000. Finally, Okabena Investment Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Stock Up 2.0%

Conagra Brands stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,234,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,195,150. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm's fifty day moving average is $19.39 and its 200-day moving average is $22.57. Conagra Brands has a fifty-two week low of $18.18 and a fifty-two week high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 9.92%.The business's revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CAG. Bank of America downgraded shares of Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.17.

Conagra Brands Company 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.