The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 792,781 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,822 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.17% of Conagra Brands worth $22,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CAG. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 399,454 shares of the company's stock worth $11,085,000 after acquiring an additional 62,187 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 78,414 shares of the company's stock worth $2,175,000 after acquiring an additional 22,790 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Conagra Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,285,579 shares of the company's stock worth $341,048,000 after purchasing an additional 618,096 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Conagra Brands by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 135,352 shares of the company's stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $558,000. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company's stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:CAG traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.99. 4,746,649 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,149,209. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.70. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.88 and a 12-month high of $33.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.09%. Conagra Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CAG. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Conagra Brands from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Conagra Brands from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $26.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Conagra Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

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.