Vest Financial LLC Has $54.93 Million Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Vest Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,775,216 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,444 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.32% of Hormel Foods worth $54,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Hormel Foods by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 22,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.67. 2,049,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,624. The company has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.29. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $33.80.

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. The business 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 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company 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 report 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.