Wellington Management Group LLP Takes Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 21,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 129,158 shares of the company's stock worth $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 24,510 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $5,362,000. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $314,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $805,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 18,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 8,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane raised 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.67 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.29. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.

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