Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 4,207 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,733 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,207 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HRL. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 365,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,475,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $659,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,326,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,617,000 after acquiring an additional 5,586 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $285,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

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

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HRL opened at $30.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 84.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.80.

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.