Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 22,888 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,888 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.51. 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 current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value 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 $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HRL. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a 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 objective for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.33.

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.