American Century Companies Inc. Has $3.64 Million Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 26.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,255 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,581,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,574,259. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.54. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. 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.