Tobam Sells 70,052 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Tobam lessened its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 64.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,391 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,052 shares during the quarter. Tobam's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its position in Hormel Foods by 183.8% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.6%

HRL stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,980,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,634,966. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $33.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.27. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

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.