Invesco Ltd. Buys 1,282,957 Shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,645,548 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,282,957 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.56% of Campbell Soup worth $194,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Campbell Soup by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,625,605 shares of the company's stock worth $989,440,000 after acquiring an additional 447,203 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Campbell Soup by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,247,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $387,273,000 after purchasing an additional 531,281 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,925,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,034,000 after acquiring an additional 35,160 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Campbell Soup by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,323,332 shares of the company's stock worth $222,420,000 after purchasing an additional 57,717 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Campbell Soup by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,237,992 shares of the company's stock worth $177,487,000 after buying an additional 199,470 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In other Campbell Soup news, EVP Charles A. Brawley III sold 2,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.03, for a total value of $99,994.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,727.70. This represents a 6.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 20.19% of the company's stock.

Campbell Soup Stock Up 1.9 %

Campbell Soup stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $37.55. 933,068 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,755,025. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.89. The firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.91. The Campbell Soup Company has a 52-week low of $36.02 and a 52-week high of $52.81.

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

Campbell Soup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. Campbell Soup's payout ratio is 90.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CPB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Campbell Soup from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Campbell Soup to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Consumer Edge reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Campbell Soup from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Campbell Soup has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.86.

Campbell Soup Company Profile

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.