Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,836 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $6,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the topic of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

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.