Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 268,328 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,241,219 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 268,328 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 6.78% of Hormel Foods worth $1,168,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HRL. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.69.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 84.67%.

About Hormel Foods

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.