Nuveen Asset Management LLC Purchases 95,397 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 788,071 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 95,397 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.14% of Hormel Foods worth $24,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,168,257,000 after purchasing an additional 268,328 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,041,000 after purchasing an additional 533,657 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company's stock worth $233,459,000 after purchasing an additional 98,442 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,488,678 shares of the company's stock worth $140,810,000 after buying an additional 261,742 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position 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 worth $137,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of HRL traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.02. The stock had a trading volume of 670,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,022,681. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $34.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.