Korea Investment CORP Sells 13,461 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,461 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 512,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,091,000 after acquiring an additional 98,035 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 334,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,491,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,395,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during 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. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 303,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,520,000 after purchasing an additional 25,177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $30.76 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.65. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. 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 Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. 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.