First Merchants Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

First Merchants Corp lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,936 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,561 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 62.9% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 387.0% during the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,841 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.2 %

HRL stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $35.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,496,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,252,174. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $41.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.43 and a 200 day moving average of $32.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.