Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.93 Million Stock Position in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG – Get Rating) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 592,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,506 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $22,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Utah Retirement Systems increased its position in Conagra Brands by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 83,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Conagra Brands by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,234,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,266,000 after acquiring an additional 51,950 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Conagra Brands by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 182,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,078,000 after acquiring an additional 25,308 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 14.7% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. 81.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Conagra Brands Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CAG opened at $35.84 on Friday. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $41.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 5th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.12. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 6.59% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Conagra Brands

In other Conagra Brands news, EVP Charisse Brock sold 7,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.04, for a total value of $260,613.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,511,466.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.66, for a total transaction of $1,739,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 104,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,053,848.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charisse Brock sold 7,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.04, for a total transaction of $260,613.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,511,466.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CAG shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Conagra Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $35.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

Conagra Brands Profile

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Conagra Brands, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of processed and packaged foods. It operates through the following segments: Grocery and Snacks, Refrigerated and Frozen, International, and Foodservice. The Grocery and Snacks segment includes branded, shelf stable food products sold in various retail channels in the United States.