First Trust Advisors LP Has $67.09 Million Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,138,631 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,182 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $67,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related 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 transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $30.74 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.49. The stock has a market cap of $16.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 84.67%.

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.