Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Sells 71,002 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC trimmed its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 67.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,002 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods accounts for 0.7% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 699.0% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 61,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 53,536 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 106,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 64,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $311,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872 over the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE HRL traded down $0.62 on Thursday, reaching $34.85. The company had a trading volume of 966,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,863,866. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.01 and its 200-day moving average is $32.80. The stock has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $41.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.40%.

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.