Value Partners Investments Inc. Purchases New Shares in The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 90,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,597,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Campbell's by 101.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Campbell's during the first quarter worth $254,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Campbell's by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 24,423 shares of the company's stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Campbell's by 1,178.3% in the 1st quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 135,042 shares of the company's stock worth $5,391,000 after acquiring an additional 124,478 shares during the period. Finally, Jmac Enterprises LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Campbell's during the 1st quarter valued at about $262,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CPB. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Campbell's from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup dropped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 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. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Campbell's from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Campbell's from $48.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.11.

Campbell's Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CPB traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,874,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,041,997. The Campbell's Company has a fifty-two week low of $30.91 and a fifty-two week high of $52.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.11.

Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 2nd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. Campbell's had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 23.22%. Campbell's's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Campbell's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Campbell's news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total transaction of $99,994.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. This represents a 6.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

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.