Grandfield & Dodd LLC Buys 10,623 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 975,923 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,623 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods comprises 1.9% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Hormel Foods worth $30,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRL. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $1,330,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $7,891,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 81,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,562,000 after acquiring an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 69,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 114,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 22,839 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:HRL traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.15. The company had a trading volume of 3,128,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,771,267. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $33.80. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 6.27%. Hormel Foods's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

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.