340,575 Shares in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Bought by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 340,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,684,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.06% of Hormel Foods at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,257,000 after purchasing an additional 268,328 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after buying an additional 617,308 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,459,000 after buying an additional 98,442 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,598,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,570,000 after acquiring an additional 162,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.4 %

HRL opened at $30.63 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $29.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.65. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective 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 issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.80.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.