Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 2,147 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,147 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $11,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 512,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,091,000 after purchasing an additional 98,035 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 334,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,491,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 303,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,520,000 after acquiring an additional 25,177 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.59 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.70. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

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.