Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Acquires Shares of 13,915 The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ:CPB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 13,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Campbell’s during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Campbell’s by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Campbell’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Campbell’s by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Campbell’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Campbell’s in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Campbell’s from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Campbell’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Campbell’s from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Campbell’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $99,994.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 37,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Campbell’s Price Performance

Campbell’s stock opened at $35.52 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.05. 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’s Company has a 1 year low of $34.27 and a 1 year high of $52.81. The company has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.14.

Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Campbell’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.17%.

Campbell’s Company 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.