Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,461,100 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,442 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.36% of Hormel Foods worth $233,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.76 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.63. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.