Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) by 161.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 186,277 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,122 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Campbell Soup were worth $7,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Campbell Soup during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Campbell Soup by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Campbell Soup by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Campbell Soup during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPB has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $47.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Campbell Soup from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Campbell Soup from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

In related news, EVP Anthony Sanzio sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.90, for a total value of $83,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,486.90. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 20.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Campbell Soup Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Campbell Soup stock opened at $40.59 on Friday. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12-month low of $36.92 and a 12-month high of $52.81. The company has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.87.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.02. Campbell Soup had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This is an increase from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.25%.

Campbell Soup 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.