Commerce Bank Has $654,000 Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,857 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,804 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,060,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company's stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $30.81 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $16.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.74 and a 200-day moving average of $30.49. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm 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 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.33.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods 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 value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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