Nebula Research & Development LLC Lowers Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Nebula Research & Development LLC cut its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 55.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,244 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,692 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 699,941 shares of the company's stock worth $21,907,000 after purchasing an additional 26,962 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 33.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,908 shares of the company's stock worth $2,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,674,000 after acquiring an additional 634,630 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:HRL traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $29.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,964,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,596,634. 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 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.84 and its 200 day moving average is $30.42. The company has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

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 issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Company 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.