Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 909,114 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,757 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Hormel Foods worth $28,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $285,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $1,330,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 19,246 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 128.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 16,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 9,252 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $30.69. 2,548,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,695,131. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $33.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $30.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.06.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 6.27%. The firm's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.