Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Decreases Position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,886 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,700 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,257,000 after buying an additional 268,328 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock worth $246,041,000 after buying an additional 533,657 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company's stock worth $233,459,000 after buying an additional 98,442 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,072,682 shares of the company's stock worth $190,500,000 after buying an additional 413,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,488,678 shares of the company's stock worth $140,810,000 after acquiring an additional 261,742 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.39. The stock had a trading volume of 7,404,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,084. 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 50-day moving average price of $30.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.22. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $33.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.