Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $1.72 Million Stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,845 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,486 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $1,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth $168,877,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $110,704,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,161,355 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,728,000 after buying an additional 1,745,319 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,798,952 shares of the company's stock worth $1,631,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,839 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in Conagra Brands by 114.5% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,927,141 shares of the company's stock worth $53,478,000 after buying an additional 1,028,631 shares during the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CAG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Conagra Brands in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.80.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.11. 7,697,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,228,738. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.35. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $22.78 and a one year high of $33.24.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 13.76% and a net margin of 4.13%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 205.88%.

Conagra Brands 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.