Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 38,185 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 24.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,899 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,185 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 802,816 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $16,612,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,271,000 after buying an additional 264,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.85. The stock has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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.