Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 4,494 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 334,413 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $10,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 11.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 18,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 69,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,200,000 after buying an additional 30,879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hormel Foods Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $29.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.73. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 3.96%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.