Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Appian Way Asset Management LP

Appian Way Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 59.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,362 shares during the period. Hormel Foods comprises approximately 0.3% of Appian Way Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Appian Way Asset Management LP's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRL. Stephens restated 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 shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,964,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,596,634. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. 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 twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.