Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 212,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,433 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $6,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HRL. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Hormel Foods by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 903,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,015,000 after purchasing an additional 125,678 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $831,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 66,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 17,809 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 33,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,474,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,598. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $41.73.

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

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio 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.