Markets advance Monday morning

U.S. stocks were well in the green on Monday when the market opened on news that the drug maker Moderna is close to a vaccine for Covid-19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 800 points, or 3.39%, to 24,488, while the S&P 500 index rose 3.07% to 2,951 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced

Campbell Soup Co (CPB), Hingham Institution for Savings (HIFS) and Worthington Industries Inc (WOR) announced quarterly dividends on Wednesday, March 25. These three companies are loyal payers, as they have been paying dividends for decades.

Campbell Soup Co

The Camden, New Jersey-based manufacturer and marketer of food and beverage products in North America announced that on April 27 it will pay a quarterly dividend of 35 cents per common share, which is in line with the previous distribution, to shareholders of record April 9. The ex-dividend date is scheduled for April. 8.

Based on Wednesday’s closing

Since the U.S. stock market peaked on Feb. 19, the S&P 500, which is often used as a benchmark, has fallen approximately 30% as of market opening on March 24. The SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ETF, an exchange-traded fund that allows investors to easily buy into the S&P 500 companies, was also down 30% over the same time frame.

While ETFs do not have the same level of selectivity as investments in individual securities, they do offer a convenient means of diversification. Thus, ETFs in general are more defensive than common stock investments, and

Despite the recent stock market correction, the following are the best-performing stocks over the past six months that have a long-term presence in multiple gurus' portfolios.

Clorox

Shares of Clorox Co. (CLX) increased 14.98% over the past six months. The stock is held by seven gurus.

The company's largest guru shareholder is Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies with 0.68% of outstanding shares, followed by Pioneer Investments (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.30% and Yacktman Asset Management (Trades, Portfolio) with 0.05%.

The manufacturer of a variety of

Soros Fund Management, the firm founded by legendary guru George Soros (Trades, Portfolio), disclosed last week that its top five buys for the fourth quarter of 2019 were in Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI), Tiffany & Co. (TIF), Campbell Soup Co. (CPB), Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) and WellCare Health Plans Inc. (WCG).

Soros’ theory of reflexivity is based on the premise that individual investor biases affect the economy and market transactions. The guru’s firm seeks investing opportunities through the study of value and market prices of assets, stocks, bonds and other securities.

Daniel Loeb launched Third Point LLC in 1995. While he heads the firm’s research activities, portfolio and risk management, he is also infamous for his, at times, vitriolic letters in which he criticizes company CEOs of activism targets.

Third Point just released its fourth-quarter 2019 letter. Loeb kick off the latest letter with his 2020 outlook:

"We enter 2020 with friendly monetary conditions and a benign economic backdrop that has driven the market higher in the first weeks of the year. The conditions remind us of 2016 when the PMI reaccelerated due to Chinese stimulus. This year,

One of our biggest winners in Q4 and 2019 was Campbell (CPB), which gained over 6% in Q4 and 55% overall in 2019. Our initial foray into Campbell was met with skepticism, both in terms of the difficulty in effecting change in a family-controlled board and the seeming difficulty in turning around what most thought was a moribund and declining business. We saw things differently and created an opening for an attractive settlement with the board by securing support from all proxy advisory firms and building consensus among non-family shareholders around the need for change.

The Board has been refreshed

During the Fourth Quarter, Third Point’s Offshore Fund gained 3.9%. Since inception in 1996, Third Point Offshore has generated a net annualized return of 14.5%.

2019’s returns were generated with roughly half of the market’s exposure. We started the year with lower nets and increased exposure towards year-end. Profits were generated primarily by activist positions.

Heading into 2019, we reduced net and increased gross equity exposure by hedging activist positions and increasing individual shorts to dampen volatility, amplify idiosyncratic returns, and thereby increase alpha. These changes helped us generate higher-quality returns last year: our Sharpe ratio was above 2.0, our

The U.S. food industry is considered to be one of the best-performing spaces, with a majority of the listed companies’ stocks having performed exceedingly well in 2019. It is actually surprising to see that most of the companies within this space on the S&P 500 appear in green when one checks the year-to-date share performance, and it is evident that the industry has been a favorite among investors. There continue to be some exceptions, however, in the form of companies operating in weaker categories that are unable to grow their top-line and that are quickly sidelined by food investors. JM

According to current portfolio statistics, Daniel Loeb (Trades, Portfolio)’s top-five holdings as of the second quarter were Baxter International Inc. (BAX), United Technologies Inc. (UTX), Campbell Soup Co. (CPB), Danaher Corp. (DHR) and PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL).

Loeb, who founded New York-based Third Point in 1995, leads the firm’s research activities, portfolio and risk management. The firm focuses on a value-oriented, activist investing approach: Loeb seeks investments where a catalyst has potential to increase shareholder value.

The fund manager said in his shareholder letter that the firm returned 13.1% through the first

Shares of Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) were 3.9% higher at $45 at close on Friday following the release of financial results for its final quarter and full year of fiscal 2019.

The U.S. packaged branded foods and beverages company posted a GAAP net loss of 2 cents per share for the fourth quarter shifting from a net profit of 42 cents per share in the same quarter of fiscal 2018. Adjusted earnings per share were 42 cents, compared to 37 cents last year.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $1.78 billion, up 2% year-over-year.

“We delivered consistent results and met or exceeded

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB)'s restructuring plan appears to be taking shape after the company’s most recent quarterly results beat expectations on earnings.

This sent the company’s stock soaring more than 9% to trade at $47.46 in the morning hours before pulling back in the afternoon session to settle at around $45.00 per share.

Campbell Soup Co. is a manufacturer and marketer of branded food and beverage products. The Camden, New Jersey-based firm operates through two main verticals including America’s simple meals and beverages that feature among other products, Campbell’s condensed and ready-to-serve soups, and