CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 41,041 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 253,163 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,041 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $7,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 780,732 shares of the company's stock worth $24,492,000 after acquiring an additional 86,685 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 251.1% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,361 shares of the company's stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 18,138 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 44,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 65,956 shares of the company's stock worth $2,069,000 after buying an additional 10,889 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.51. 2,257,248 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,586,325. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $29.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

About Hormel Foods

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.