Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN - Free Report) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,140 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,634 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Tyson Foods were worth $4,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Tyson Foods by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,140,309 shares of the company's stock worth $67,917,000 after buying an additional 352,863 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Tyson Foods by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,975 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Tyson Foods by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 56,537 shares of the company's stock worth $3,248,000 after buying an additional 6,955 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Tyson Foods by 289.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 18,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Tyson Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $775,000. 67.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Tyson Foods Price Performance

TSN stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $61.13. 154,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,311,497. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50 day moving average is $60.22 and its 200 day moving average is $59.60. Tyson Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.61 and a 12-month high of $66.88.

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

Tyson Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Tyson Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on TSN shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Tyson Foods from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Tyson Foods in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Tyson Foods from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. HSBC upgraded Tyson Foods from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Tyson Foods from $76.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Tyson Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

About Tyson Foods

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.