Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Reduces Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 110,918 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,662 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 417.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,577 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 16,313 shares during the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 131,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872 in the last ninety days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

HRL opened at $35.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $41.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.41.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.