Xponance Inc. Sells 3,104 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Xponance Inc. cut its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,104 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 34,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 109,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after acquiring an additional 18,620 shares in the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $446,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 905,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,064,000 after acquiring an additional 15,385 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hormel Foods news, 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 value of $539,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.3 %

HRL opened at $35.60 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $41.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.59 and its 200 day moving average is $32.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

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.