2,289,688 Shares in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Bought by Millennium Management LLC

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods, purchasing 2,289,688 shares valued at approximately $46.7 million, representing about 0.58% ownership.
• Smithfield Foods has received several analyst upgrades, with price targets increased by firms like Morgan Stanley and Barclays to $30, while Zacks raised their rating to "strong-buy."
• Smithfield Foods recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 4.3%, with a total annualized dividend payout of $1.00.

Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,289,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,687,000. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Smithfield Foods at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SFD. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,488,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $20,331,000. Brightlight Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,424,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $8,156,000. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Smithfield Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,784,000.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:SFD traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.43. 1,406,723 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,808. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.76. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.43 and a 1 year high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Smithfield Foods news, Director Hank Shenghua He purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 87,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,022,750. This represents a 12.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Keller D. Watts purchased 3,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $89,117.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 74,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,740,425.25. This represents a 5.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,831,753 shares of company stock worth $42,588,257. 0.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SFD. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research raised Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $28.50 target price (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Smithfield Foods has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.