Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina trimmed its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,975 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.38 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.52 and a 200 day moving average of $30.53.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 84.67%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HRL. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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 stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.33.

About Hormel Foods

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.