United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,341 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,649,000 after acquiring an additional 20,514 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 313,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,838,000 after purchasing an additional 116,304 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 862,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,051,000 after purchasing an additional 26,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 71,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,228,000 after buying an additional 9,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. Bank of America raised 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.6 %

HRL stock opened at $30.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $29.65 and its 200 day moving average is $30.49.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 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.