Ethic Inc. Buys 8,676 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,664 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,676 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on HRL shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded 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 assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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 price target of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $29.23 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.88 and its 200-day moving average is $30.34.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.67%.

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.