Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 30,766 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 555,914 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,766 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.10% of Hormel Foods worth $17,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,257,000 after acquiring an additional 268,328 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock worth $246,041,000 after purchasing an additional 533,657 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company's stock worth $233,459,000 after buying an additional 98,442 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,227,000 after buying an additional 1,107,270 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Hormel Foods by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,674,000 after buying an additional 634,630 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $30.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,965,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,414. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.89 and a 200 day moving average of $30.31. The company has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.