Huntington National Bank Buys 793 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,942 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,257,000 after acquiring an additional 268,328 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,459,000 after purchasing an additional 98,442 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $102,598,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reissued 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, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.63. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 3.77%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.