Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,766 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.10% of Hormel Foods worth $17,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.23 on Monday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

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.