Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lowered its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 47.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,236 shares of the company's stock after selling 67,772 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 2,867 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,855,000 after acquiring an additional 35,731 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,164,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,510,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,455,000 after acquiring an additional 167,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,537,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $34.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,359,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,152,096. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $33.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.47. The stock has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.27. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $41.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.