Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 4,494 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,413 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned 0.06% of Hormel Foods worth $10,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after buying an additional 802,816 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 worth $794,659,000 after buying an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $16,612,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $1,168,257,000 after acquiring an additional 268,328 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of HRL opened at $29.29 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.73.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective 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 assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

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.