Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN - Free Report) by 56.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,033 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 0.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 19,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 6.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 0.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 48,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,908,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 2.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 67.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Tyson Foods from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens boosted their price target on Tyson Foods from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Tyson Foods from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. HSBC raised Tyson Foods from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Tyson Foods from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Tyson Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Tyson Foods

In other Tyson Foods news, insider Wes Morris sold 25,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.71, for a total transaction of $1,622,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $687,543.75. This trade represents a 70.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Noel W. White sold 171,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $10,896,330.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,304,602.30. This represents a 82.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 381,531 shares of company stock worth $24,341,833 in the last 90 days. 2.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Tyson Foods Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE TSN traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.10. 3,151,524 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,428,615. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.01 and a 1-year high of $66.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.80.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.35. Tyson Foods had a return on equity of 6.87% and a net margin of 1.96%. The firm had revenue of $13.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Tyson Foods's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Tyson Foods, Inc. will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Tyson Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Tyson Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Tyson Foods Profile

Tyson Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Prepared Foods. The company processes live fed cattle and hogs; fabricates dressed beef and pork carcasses into primal and sub-primal meat cuts, as well as case ready beef and pork, and fully cooked meats; raises and processes chickens into fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products, including breaded chicken strips, nuggets, patties, and other ready-to-fix or fully cooked chicken parts; and supplies poultry breeding stock.