Bellwether Advisors LLC Buys 56,340 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bellwether Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 508.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,416 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,340 shares during the period. Bellwether Advisors LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company's stock worth $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,270 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,674,000 after purchasing an additional 634,630 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock worth $246,041,000 after buying an additional 533,657 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HRL. Bank of America raised Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.7 %

HRL opened at $29.68 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day moving average of $30.47. 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 market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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