Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 155,206 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155,206 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $5,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.95 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $36.86. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.66. The firm has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.