Savant Capital LLC Has $1.23 Million Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Savant Capital LLC cut its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,239 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,260 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE HRL opened at $28.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.27 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.