Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 737,108 Shares of Conagra Brands $CAG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) by 97.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,006 shares of the company’s stock after selling 737,108 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 661,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,442,000 after acquiring an additional 131,287 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Conagra Brands by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,125,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,725 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Conagra Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,415,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Conagra Brands by 153.4% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 406,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,897,000 after purchasing an additional 246,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Conagra Brands by 238.9% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 205,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 145,191 shares during the period. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 0.0%

CAG stock opened at $14.34 on Friday. Conagra Brands has a twelve month low of $12.53 and a twelve month high of $21.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of -143.34 and a beta of -0.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.95.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 1st. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.01). Conagra Brands had a negative net margin of 0.39% and a positive return on equity of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard H. Lenny bought 25,000 shares of Conagra Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.34 per share, with a total value of $358,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 229,340 shares in the company, valued at $3,288,735.60. This trade represents a 12.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John J. Mulligan purchased 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.31 per share, for a total transaction of $250,425.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,617.68. This trade represents a 542.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Conagra Brands from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Conagra Brands from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore lowered their price target on Conagra Brands from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $14.13.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra’s product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.

Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender’s and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt’s sauces, Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.