Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Invests $583,000 in The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ:CPB)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ:CPB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CPB. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Campbell’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Campbell’s 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. SPC Financial Inc. raised its stake in Campbell’s by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 13,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Campbell’s by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its position in Campbell’s by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 11,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Campbell’s from $46.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Campbell’s from $51.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Campbell’s from $39.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Campbell’s to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Campbell’s in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.27.

Campbell’s Stock Up 1.6%

CPB stock opened at $35.52 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.14. The Campbell’s Company has a 12 month low of $34.27 and a 12 month high of $52.81. The firm’s fifty 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 current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Campbell’s had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 23.79%. Campbell’s’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Campbell’s Company will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Campbell’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Campbell’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.17%.

Insider Transactions at Campbell’s

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 directly owns 37,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,727.70. This trade represents a 6.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.19% of the company’s stock.

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.