California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,326,642 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,586 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $41,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. 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 worth $1,168,257,000 after purchasing an additional 268,328 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,362,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,646,000 after buying an additional 120,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,598,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,570,000 after acquiring an additional 162,577 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

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

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.63 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.65.

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 given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HRL. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price 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 given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.