193,924 Shares in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Purchased by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 193,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,115,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,649,000 after acquiring an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 862,308 shares of the company's stock worth $27,051,000 after purchasing an additional 26,121 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 71,010 shares of the company's stock worth $2,228,000 after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 929,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,170,000 after purchasing an additional 111,454 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $30.34. 317,018 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,564,003. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.54. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HRL shares. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.80.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents 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 through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.