Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 688,115 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113,823 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $21,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 512,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,091,000 after buying an additional 98,035 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 334,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,491,000 after acquiring an additional 4,494 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $1,168,257,000 after purchasing an additional 268,328 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 303,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 25,177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $30.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.67. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid 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 3.82%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

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.