Man Group plc Acquires 677,194 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Man Group plc grew its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 186.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,041,356 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 677,194 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.19% of Hormel Foods worth $32,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the 4th 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. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.14 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.31. 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 market cap of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HRL. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.33.

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.