Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 41,563 Shares of Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,267,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,563 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $35,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Courier Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.3% in the third quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 27,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 16,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 0.7% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 52,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 25,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.75% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

NYSE:CAG opened at $24.90 on Wednesday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $24.18 and a one year high of $33.24. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.13% and a return on equity of 13.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Conagra Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.62%. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 137.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CAG shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

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.