Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 63,677 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 142,310 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,677 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 349.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,015 shares of the company's stock worth $1,977,000 after buying an additional 3,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exeter Financial LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 16,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.2 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.39. The company has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value 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 represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.

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