Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,206 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,274 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company's stock worth $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company's stock worth $117,674,000 after buying an additional 634,630 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $246,041,000 after buying an additional 533,657 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,612,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded down $0.19 on Monday, hitting $29.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,257,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,586,325. The company has a market capitalization of $16.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.47.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 84.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods 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.