Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 98,035 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 512,928 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 98,035 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.09% of Hormel Foods worth $16,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.68. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year 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.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price 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 note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.80.

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.