Mather Group LLC. Boosts Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 368,841 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,922 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC. owned approximately 0.07% of Hormel Foods worth $11,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 55.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 16,313 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 6.9% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,670 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 178,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,802,000 after buying an additional 16,821 shares during the period. Finally, Toews Corp ADV acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $783,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.10 on Monday, hitting $35.42. 1,469,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,058,095. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.49. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $41.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.35.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.40%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 available at the SEC website. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. 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 three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently 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.