Kentucky Trust Co Acquires New Position in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in The Campbell Soup Company (NASDAQ:CPB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 1,593.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,904,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,005 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Campbell Soup by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 165,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 42,216 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,806,000. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Campbell Soup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $293,000. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Campbell Soup Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CPB opened at $38.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.19. The Campbell Soup Company has a 12 month low of $36.92 and a 12 month high of $52.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Campbell Soup (NASDAQ:CPB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that The Campbell Soup Company will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Campbell Soup Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. This is a boost from Campbell Soup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Campbell Soup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CPB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Campbell Soup from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Campbell Soup from $49.00 to $46.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Campbell Soup in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, 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. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.17.

Insider Activity at Campbell Soup

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

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.