Commerce Bank Sells 8,804 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Commerce Bank lessened its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,857 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,804 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 253,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,938,000 after buying an additional 41,041 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 780,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,492,000 after acquiring an additional 86,685 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 251.1% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 18,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 44,960 shares of the company's stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

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

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL stock traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $29.34. 375,884 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,577,704. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.82 and a 200 day moving average of $30.46. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 84.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.