Cerity Partners LLC Has $1.78 Million Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,617 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,773 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HRL. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2,319.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 49,357 shares of the company's stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 47,317 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 166,930 shares of the company's stock worth $5,235,000 after purchasing an additional 29,683 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 849,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,656,000 after buying an additional 49,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 313,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,838,000 after buying an additional 116,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective 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 assigned 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,322,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,887. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 84.67%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.