Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 154,400 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,546 shares of the company's stock after selling 154,400 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $1,060,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $222,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 349.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.2 %

HRL stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,964,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,592,759. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.