Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Director Elsa A. Murano Sells 4,500 Shares

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,262,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,538,254. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.55 and its 200 day moving average is $30.66. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $27.59 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.80.

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.