Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Acquired by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,393 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 7,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Carlson Capital Management grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the third quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 7,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 23,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE HRL opened at $30.64 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.69. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $41.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.25.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 80.71%.

Hormel Foods 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.