Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $397,000 Stock Holdings in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,213 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Conagra Brands were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Conagra Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Conagra Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 82.8% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Conagra Brands by 144.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Conagra Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 83.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas M. Mcgough sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.29, for a total value of $1,211,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 161,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,890,108.47. The trade was a 0.00 % 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. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Conagra Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of CAG opened at $29.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.94. Conagra Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.62 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.01 and a 200-day moving average of $30.25.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Conagra Brands had a net margin of 4.14% and a return on equity of 13.71%. Conagra Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Conagra Brands, Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Conagra Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 135.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on CAG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Conagra Brands from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Conagra Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Conagra Brands from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Conagra Brands in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Conagra Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.63.

Conagra Brands Company Profile

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.