Ethic Inc. Has $3.22 Million Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,664 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,676 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company's stock worth $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its position in Hormel Foods by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,817 shares in the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 16,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC now owns 16,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $919,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.1%

HRL traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.24. 4,189,583 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,062. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.32.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.33.

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.