Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG decreased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 90.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,881 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 365,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,475,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $659,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,326,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,617,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $30.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.64. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.