Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 22,348 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 40.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,058 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,348 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,764,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,491,000 after buying an additional 1,016,300 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,241,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,252,000 after buying an additional 947,576 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 78.3% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,976,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,506,000 after buying an additional 868,278 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,214,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,970,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,835,000 after buying an additional 826,681 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of HRL stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,359,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,454,704. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.27. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $41.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.40.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on HRL shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 38,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. Company insiders own 0.69% 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.