Wells Fargo & Company MN Trims Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,697 shares of the company's stock after selling 92,430 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 95,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This trade 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. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE HRL traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.68. 2,381,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,585,648. 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.48. The stock has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given 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 3.91%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

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.