Woodline Partners LP Invests $494,000 in The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in The Campbell's Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,796 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its position in Campbell's by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 16,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Campbell's by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,065 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $583,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Campbell's by 272.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,243,300 shares of the company's stock worth $93,949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Campbell's by 119.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,998,756 shares of the company's stock worth $83,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086,856 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Campbell's

In other news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPB has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Campbell's from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Campbell's from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Campbell's from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $37.00 in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Campbell's in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "sell" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell's to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.40.

Campbell's Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of CPB traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $34.27. 2,540,569 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,857,630. The Campbell's Company has a 52 week low of $32.95 and a 52 week high of $52.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company's 50 day moving average is $36.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.41. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.14.

Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Campbell's had a return on equity of 23.79% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. The company's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Campbell's Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Campbell's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.17%.

About Campbell's

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.