Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Acquires New Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 335,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,517,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.06% of Hormel Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company's stock worth $91,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,087 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,270 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,674,000 after purchasing an additional 634,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock worth $246,041,000 after purchasing an additional 533,657 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $27.59 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 84.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hormel Foods 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.