Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 47,317 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 2,319.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,357 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,317 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 8,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 166,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,235,000 after purchasing an additional 29,683 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 217.0% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 33,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 22,911 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $30.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,859,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,094. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.51. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $36.86. 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 market cap of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 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.