Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 112,654 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112,654 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.10% of Hormel Foods worth $16,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 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 valued at $91,810,000 after buying an additional 1,175,087 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,612,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $30.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.64. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend 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.