Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $5.36 Million in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 170,925 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,362,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 3,097 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE HRL traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.91. 1,717,779 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,625,687. The business's 50 day moving average is $30.00 and its 200-day moving average is $30.27. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $27.59 and a 12-month high of $33.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HRL. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised 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. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Hormel Foods Company 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.